Broomsticks and Shuriken
by Lady Red 88
Summary: Things go a little bit crazy when the minds of Uchiha Sasuke and Harry Potter are accidently switched. Evading Orochimaru is the least of Harry's problems. Boggarts? Sasuke doesn't even know the half of it. 5th Year. R & R if you please. REVISED 29/10/11
1. The Chrysalis Draught

**Author's Note: **Standard disclaimer applies. Chapter One Revised as of 29-10-2011.

* * *

**Broomsticks and Shuriken**

_Written by Lady Red_

**Chapter One**

**The Chrysalis Draught**

The third week of their fifth year for the Gryffindor house was not turning out to be an entirely pleasant one. Professor McGonagall remained unrelenting (despite all the protests from her fifth years) in the masses of homework she gave. A fight between Dean Thomas and Theodore Nott on Tuesday had cost the house thirty points and been duly noted by the remainder and the combined classes of History of Magic and Divination were nearly driving them to distraction. On top of that, Dolores Umbridge couldn't seem to get it through her incredibly dense, curly haired skull that the Gryffindors were less than amused with her Defence Against the Dark Arts classes. Perhaps the most woeful thing about the entire week however, was Professor Snape's double lesson of Potions that particular Friday afternoon of the third week of the school year.

Harry, Ron and Hermione had chosen a table as far back from the front as they could get and away from the dark, malicious eyes of their professor. It was evident the day before that Snape was in a less than pleasant mood when he'd docked Ron ten house points for having his shirt un-tucked. Hence, Harry deliberately tried to avoid trouble with his least favourite teacher by seating himself and his two friends at the back of the classroom, for all the good it would do.

For today's Potions class the three Gryffindors were trying to brew a particularly complicated draught that was supposed to 'relax and cleanse the soul' as Snape had disdainfully put it. Clearly he didn't think much of the potion either but its complicated nature was more than enough to convince the Potions professor to put his students through the anxiety of making it.

The Chrysalis draught reminded Harry of one of his Aunt's yoga DVDs she'd bought over the summer. Aunt Petunia had a small treasure trove when he'd gotten home and had built it up to a respectable size over the next few weeks of the school holidays along with a variety of patterned mats and awful, brightly coloured tights. Harry had had a hard time not erupting into laughter every time he saw his Aunt in them. The draught sounded exactly like the kind of thing his Aunt would consider a 'must have' for sake of appearing the part of a yoga enthusiast.

"Oh for heaven's sake Ron," sighed Hermione in exasperation. "That's not nearly enough rosemary for the Chrysalis draught."

Scowling, Ron picked up a new, prickly sprig and began chopping all over again.

"I don't see why we need so much of this stuff," he complained darkly. "It hasn't got any healing properties or anything. Mum always said it smelt nice so she uses it in her cooking. I mean seriously Hermione; I just don't see the sense in it."

"The smell's supposed to help Ron," sighed Hermione. "Don't you know anything?"

Harry hid a grimace. Don't get him wrong – he cared deeply for his two best mates but sometimes, well ... It wasn't uncommon to find himself caught up in Ron and Hermione's bickering but every so often Harry wished Ron could simply learn to let it go or Hermione didn't always have to insist that she was in the right.

"Ron, Hermione always knows what she's doing when it comes to potions," Harry pointed out just as Ron opened his mouth to fire a new shot.

"That's not the point," Ron insisted, instead turning to face Harry who watched with some amusement as Ron's hand began to wave about, as if it would make his position on the matter clearer somehow. He was entirely oblivious to the knife in his grip that might poke someone's eye out. "It's like trying to make medicine taste nice. Just because you change the taste doesn't mean it stops being medicine."

"So?" replied Harry not really understanding where Ron was heading at all.

"I give up!"

Dramatically, Ron threw his hands up into the air. Unfortunately he nearly hit poor Neville who was walking right past behind him with his arms loaded down with potion supplies. To avoid Ron's dangerously circling arm Neville ducked and tried to stumble out of the way at the same time. His hip crashed against their table and he dropped half his load all over the place. A good portion fell into the three Gryffindors' Chrysalis Draught, effectively ruining it and when Ron realised what he'd done and tried to help Neville, he sent their cauldron flying and unfortunately, all down the front of Harry's robes.

Harry jumped when the warm blue liquid splashed across his torso and plastered his robes to his body in a sticky mess. The others froze, horrified at what had just happen. Hermione had gone pale and Harry knew why. His temper since the incident at Grimmauld Place hadn't improved any; the incident with Seamus Finnegan the first week of class had been proof enough. Harry had tried to control himself since then but never the less; he felt the stirrings of hot anger in the pit of his stomach anyway.

"Oh look Ron! Just perfect!" Harry snapped furiously.

The red headed boy was still completely frozen, one arm holding onto Neville and the other out flung – the one that had knocked the potion all over Harry.

"Harry! I'm so sorry mate," squeaked Ron finally letting go of Neville. He looked around for something to wipe up the mess with but by that stage Snape had come gliding down to the back of the classroom to see what all the commotion was about.

"Potter, Wesley, Longbottom. There's a surprise," murmured Snape as his flat, dark eyes came to rest on the three students and the spilt potion.

"It was an accident sir," said Harry shortly, hoping to head Snape off.

Snape sneered, not at all deterred. "Hardly. Twenty points from Gryffindor for misconduct."

"_Twenty_?" protested Ron but hastily shut up when he caught Snape's eye.

"Potter, go clean yourself up," ordered Snape. "You three, try to salvage your potion if you can."

Snape smiled silkily and then walked away leaving the four Gryffindors feeling frustrated and sullen. The rest of the Gryffindor fifth years barely battered an eyelash. Losing another twenty points hardly seemed like much after such a long and particularly bad week. Of course, when it came to Harry Potter and Professor Snape, loosing points in Potions was a God given anyway.

"Bloody sod," muttered Ron. "Doesn't that prat have a decent bone in his entire body?"

"I doubt it Ron," retorted Hermione dryly. "Besides, this is all your fault."

"My fault?" asked Ron incredulously. "It was an accident like Harry said; could have happened to anyone."

His flippant reply didn't appease Hermione however. "Well you know what Snape's like. Some days I think you enjoy inviting trouble."

Harry blocked out his two friends as another epic argument began. He caught Neville's eye and the awkward boy shot him an apologetic look. Harry gave Neville a tight smile in return and left the dungeons, his mood blacker than ever.

He located the bathrooms in relatively short order (it was always a little bit of a challenge in the dungeons where the corridors were more like a labyrinth) but not without a little trouble.

Peeves, the poltergeist, was floating right above the entrance to the boys' bathroom. It looked like he turned all the taps on in the bathrooms again, knowing how much Filch hated to clean up the mess. There was already a substantial amount of water on the floor and it would get much worse before Filch would discover what Peeves had done. The moment his beady little eyes landed upon Harry however, they lit up with delighted glee. Peeves loved to pull pranks of all sorts but tormenting Hogwarts students was even better, especially students like Harry.

"Why if it isn't four-eyed Potter," he sniggered. "Decided you want to join those Ravenclaw fairies?" Peeves asked, pointing at Harry's blue coloured robes which had become stiff and clammy.

Harry favoured Peeves with a glare but otherwise chose to ignore the obnoxious being.

"Oh? Has poor little Potty been rejected by those prissy Ravenclaws?" heckled Peeves.

"Yes Peeves. Now bugger off and go bother Filch or something," snapped Harry.

The poltergeist only laughed rather than getting upset.

Cursing the spirit under his breath, Harry stomped into the watery puddles and made his way to the bathroom door. At that moment however, a strange dizziness rolled over him. Harry stumbled and flung out a hand, barely catching himself upon the stone wall of the corridor.

"What?" slurred Harry, trying not to tumble onto the wet floor.

Everything was spinning before his eyes and Peeves grating voice seemed to be growing dimmer. Harry didn't understand what was happening. Strangely his vision was starting to go blue and he felt alarmingly cold all of a sudden, like someone had thrown him into a lake in the middle of winter.

The _potion!_ Harry realised suddenly. It had to be something to do with the potion. Neville had dropped a whole bunch of stuff into it and now it was doing something to Harry.

Harry thought he actually heard Peeves ask if there was something wrong but a moment later his body lost whatever strength it had and he collapsed onto the wet floor. In a matter of seconds the blueness completely swamped his vision and all of a sudden, he felt a tremendous shot of pain rip through his chest, like a wedge was being driven clean through a chunk of wood to split it in half.

All at once, Harry felt no more.

0-0-0-0-0-0

He awoke to complete and utter darkness and the sound of someone banging impatiently on a door somewhere.

Moaning softly, he rolled over and sat up. Gingerly he rested his hands on his stomach, which rolled rebelliously with the action and almost convinced Harry to thrown up. With a tremendous amount of effort, Harry swallowed down the urge.

The knocking continued persistently, demanding that Harry get up and open the door at once. He couldn't see a damn thing though and there wasn't even the faintest trace of a window to indicate whether it was day or night.

Something about the entire scenario felt incredibly off to Harry who was used to waking up in the hospital wing when these kinds of things happened. Unlike usual however, there were no Ron and Hermione anxiously waiting for him to wake up nor the familiar disinfectant smell the Hospital Wing possessed. It was also pitch black Harry reflected irritably but at least he'd woken up on a bed. That was definitely a positive.

Stumbling across the room in the darkness and stubbing his toe on something rather sharp, Harry paused for a moment to hiss before proceeding onwards. By the time he found the door and felt around for the doorknob he was visibly sweating and sure he was as pale as a ghost.

He swung it open to reveal a grey haired man who looked remarkably young for someone with a hair colour like that. He was dressed in a grey shirt and pants and there was a dark pair of sandals on his feet. He also looked rather displeased with his features set in a deep scowl and narrow slate grey eyes staring flatly at Harry from behind wired rimmed glasses.

He opened his mouth to say something but paused, noticing Harry's dishevelled attire and pinched, pale face.

"Well that explains it," he said to Harry. "You're sick. I'll tell Orochimaru."

"Orochimaru?" repeated Harry dumbly.

"Of course Orochimaru," replied the man, speaking slowly, as if Harry were a child. "He wanted to know why you didn't show up for training seeing as you were so insistent upon it yesterday. You can sleep and I'll come back later and give you something but next time don't make me pound on your door for ten minutes."

He turned and stalked away leaving a very confused Harry standing in his doorway. After a moment or two Harry shrugged the strange conversation off and opened the door wider. He had no idea what had just happened or who that man was.

_Orochimaru? Who called themselves that? Sounded like some sort of name Voldermort might like._

The room he'd awoken in opened out into a gloomy corridor whose end was so far away in either direction that it was shrouded in darkness. The grey haired man had already vanished. Not sure whether to be curious or worried, Harry stepped out into the corridor and shut the door behind him. He couldn't recall ever seeing any part of Hogwarts that looked like this.

He frowned at the walls which were made of an unusual, reddish-brown stone unlike the grey stone used in Hogwarts. Strange patterns had been carved into the stone and every so often, there was a lit torch in a stone bracket placed on the wall to light the way. The fire was warm but the passageway felt cold and damp; no better than Snape's dungeons. If this really was Hogwarts, he'd never seen this part of it before.

Deciding finding a teacher was his priority for now, Harry turned to his right and chose to proceed in that direction. He could have gone left he supposed but the grey-haired man had vanished in that direction and something about him disturbed Harry and set his teeth on edge. The way he spoke and the expression upon his face reminded Harry rather uncomfortably of the way Lucius Malfoy was so very fond of looking at him.

The stone was cold beneath his bare feet as Harry walked. Unfortunately he soon discovered that getting out was going to be harder than it looked. The corridors were all the same and there was nobody about to point him in the right direction, not even one of the many talking portraits always present upon Hogwarts walls. Occasionally he thought he could hear the dull murmur of noise in the distance but he never came across anything.

After ten minutes of wandering lost through the maze of endless corridors, Harry felt a gentle breeze stir against his face. He turned in the direction it had come from and picked up the pace. A few twists and turns later and at long last a chink of light appeared in the distance.

In another minute Harry was finally outside in the sunshine. The sun's warm rays were welcome but Harry halted in bewilderment at the sight before him. He might not know the castle completely but he was certain he knew every inch of the Hogwarts grounds and what he could see looked nothing like he'd ever seen before. The trees and plants looked normal enough but they weren't anything like the British shrubs and trees he knew. The foliage looked dryer and reedier somehow. It still appeared to be late morning but the temperature felt hotter, almost humid. A well-worn footpath led away from the entrance he'd emerged from that looked more like a cave than anything else. Uneasy, Harry followed the footpath for a few minutes, hoping to see something or someone that he recognised.

He did find someone eventually or rather, they found him. The path had continued on to a place where it had been cut into the side of a small hill, dropping away sharply ten or so metres to the bottom on his left and rising roughly the same distance above him on the right. Harry didn't realise he'd finally found someone until he came around the corner and there they were.

Harry halted in surprise. The two men seemed just as surprised to see him but they recovered much quicker than he.

"Uchiha-san," said the taller of the two men. He was wearing the same strange pair of sandals on his feet like the grey haired man had that Harry had met before and there was a deep scar down one side of his face but other than that, he appeared to be perfectly ordinary – muggle ordinary that is. The other man was shorter and stockier with a full bristling beard and a round, squat helmet of a make Harry didn't recognise crammed down over his ears.

"Glad to see you're up and about again," continued the man.

"Er, yeah? Glad to be up?" replied Harry, confused. _Uchiha-san?_ The name (if that's what it was) meant nothing to him. Could they perhaps have mistaken him for someone else? Nearly every person Harry had ever met knew him by sight and if not that, then by description alone.

Harry's eyes drifted sideways to the shorter man who was holding something within his grasp. He blinked at the object, not really understanding what he was seeing for a second. The answer struck him like lightening when he finally did realise what the man was holding. It was a small, wicked looking knife of some kind. In his other hand he was holding a diminutive whetstone which he'd apparently been sharpening the knife with.

Wary, Harry took half a step back, suspicious eyes now pinned upon the two. He didn't immediately think they were Death Eaters but that was the first thought that leapt into his mind regardless. He knew wizards didn't like to carry knives but the fact remained that he'd awoken in a strange place he didn't recognise and hadn't met a single person he knew since he'd come to.

"Who are you?" asked Harry warily.

The two men stared at Harry and then the taller laughed Harry's question off.

"Well you wouldn't know us by sight Uchiha-san but we've seen you around before," said the man. "You're as suspicious as the rumours say. No, Kotaru-san and I here are the new sentries assigned by Orochimaru to this gate post. I am Akira, formally from the Land of Stone."

The man pointed to his forehead where there was a metal plate attached to a piece of cloth tied in place. A deep grove had been scratched through the symbol etched into the gleaming steel.

Harry said nothing, no less suspicious than he had been before. The man hadn't told him anything that meant anything in particular to him. Never the less, Harry didn't allow his guard to drop. The situation was just too odd. There was definitely something not quite right.

"Say, didn't the previous gate keep say Uchiha-san left some travel supplies with us?" spoke up the man's stockier companion. His voice was gruff and he didn't seem nearly as interested in Harry as Akira seemed to be.

"You know, I think you're right Kotaru," replied Akira thoughtfully. "I suppose that's why you came down here, without any shoes no less." Akira shot a bemused smile at Harry's naked feet but the humour was lost on him. Harry couldn't seem to muster any effort to feel embarrassed; at least not when a little voice in the back of his head was going mental like Trelawney and her cynical predictions on a bad day.

With a shrug of his shoulders, Akira shook off the awkward silence that followed at Harry's lack of response and turned aside. Without so much as a flinch, Akira stepped forward and vanished through the stone hillside, just like walking through the brick wall at Kingscross Station to get to Platform 9 ¾ to catch the Hogwarts Express.

Rather easily, Harry pushed aside his surprise with nothing more than a blink to show it and cautiously followed Akira, one eye carefully watching Kotaru in his peripheral vision. The man didn't seem to be paying any attention at all and was already involved once again in the sharpening of his knife by the time Harry stepped through and quickly pulled himself up short, having nearly run into Akira's back. He was halted just inside the doorway. Harry was surprised; it was very cramped beyond the illusion with barely enough room for three men to stand comfortably. The lighting was dim and Harry could just make out shelves loaded down with boxes and an assortment of objects which looked a lot like more knives, similar the one Kotaru had been sharpening; backpacks and water canteens amongst other things. A black, narrow passageway gaped open just to the other side of Akira which Harry eyed for a moment before turning his attention back to the older man.

Akira was rummaging through one of the boxes, looking for 'Uchiha-san's' misplaced travel supplies. Gradually Harry became aware of the need to answer the call of nature. Akira didn't appear to have found what he was looking for yet.

"Oi, do you mind if I use your loo?" asked Harry.

"Sure, down there," replied Akira, indicating the dark passageway distractedly.

Harry left without another word and found the bathroom in short order. Once he was done, he quickly washed his hands and then cupped them beneath the running tap. He splashed the water across his face and sighed deeply, finally beginning to feel a little cooler. It really had been hot out and inside this little cave, it was even hotter. He shut off the tap and glanced about for a towel but there wasn't one so he yanked the front of his shirt up to wipe off the excess moisture.

He got the shock of his life when he lowered it and saw another person standing right in front of him, less than a foot from his face. He leapt back on instinct, a strangled curse escaping him.

And the person was gone.

Confused, Harry straightened up. Had the person been nothing more than a figment of his imagination?

Unfortunately, Harry noticed the mirror above the sink and an awful suspicion began to grow within the back of his mind. Sure enough, the boy reappeared when Harry stepped back in front of the mirror. It was him he realised. _He_ was the boy he thought he'd seen.

The boy's skin was paler than Harry's and he was a good couple of inches taller. His eyes were the blackest shade of night Harry had ever seen – impossible to tell where the pupil ended and the colour of the eye began. Even his hair was different: if possible it was even messier in the back then Harry's own and longer in the front. It was as black as the strange eyes peering out of his face. A smattering of faded, almost impossible to see nicks and scars littered his hands and arms. There were even several upon his face. The clothes themselves were nondescript; a pair of black pants and a white jacket that reached to mid-thigh and was secured with a matching strip of cloth tied around his waist and knotted just to one side of his belly button.

The transformation was disturbing to say the least but Harry put that down to the potion. Having once transfigured himself and Ron to look like Malfoy's goons, he wasn't quite that worried about it. Madam Pomfrey would be able to set him right soon enough. The far more disturbing factor was where exactly was he? He was becoming sure this wasn't Hogwarts and if it wasn't then was he in the hands of the Death Eaters? Was this all some sort of elaborate setup for Voldemort's amusement?

A knock interrupted Harry's mental clamouring enough to make him jerk around, his eyes shooting to the door.

"Um, Uchiha-san? I found your supplies. Were you leaving on another mission again?" asked Akira through the wooden door.

_Could__this__be__a__chance?_wondered Harry. Maybe Voldemort had kidnapped him while he was unconscious but before the transformation had taken effect. Maybe Uchiha was one of the Death Eaters and his Potions accident had inadvertently altered his appearance enough to make him look similar to this Uchiha person. Voldemort and his cronies probably didn't even realise he didn't look like he usually did. But that didn't explain the grey haired man or the fact that he'd been left alone in an unlocked room. Harry decided to worry about it later and to take the chance to escape while he could.

Taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, Harry opened the door.

"Here you are Uchiha-san," said Akira, holding out a backpack to Harry. He took it cautiously, trying to hide his surprise when he realised how heavy it was. Akira then handed him what looked like a metal bar at first until he realised it was a sword without a guard. It was almost impossible to tell where the hilt started and the sheath began. It wasn't the first sword Harry had ever held – that had of course been Gryffindor's sword in his second year in the Chamber of Secrets. He wondered though, what a Death Eater would want with a sword.

The last item Harry received from Akira was a strange set of shoes like the ones he and the grey haired man were wearing. They looked like a pair of boots but the toe of each boot was missing as was the heel. Deciding the design was unimportant however, Harry hastily redirected his attention to the older man, ready for any sign that he was about to be discovered as an imposter.

"There you go," said Akira. "I suppose you can't talk about the mission. That's alright though. Just make sure you bring us back a souvenir Uchiha-san."

Akira laughed to himself and clapped Harry on the shoulder before he could react. He stumbled a little, unable to balance as easily with his arms full. Akira didn't seem to have noticed through as he practically pushed Harry back out into the warm sunlight. The cool breeze was highly welcome but Harry didn't waste time enjoying it. Quickly he pulled his backpack on, thrust the sword through his cloth belt and yanked his shoes on.

"Eager to be off is he?" Harry heard Kotaru ask Akira.

"Ah," agreed Akira as Harry straightened, his feet now firmly protected from the dirt road.

"Well bring us back a souvenir then Uchiha-san," said Kotaru.

"We'll see," mumbled Harry, just wanting to leave as quickly as possible.

The two men laughed at his words. "A man of few words indeed, is a man of the Uchiha," proclaimed Akira.

His gave the two a short, sharp nod and then turned, struggling to resist the urge to break into a run as he walked away. "Good luck!" Kotaru called after him. Whatever else they might have said was lost as Harry rounded a corner and left the two likely Death Eaters behind him.

0-0-0-0-0-0

When Sasuke awoke at first he thought he was sick. His stomach felt awful and his head pounded in time with each corresponding beat of his heart. Once he assessed that he then realised that something else wasn't quite right besides the feeling that he was coming down with something or else had been on the wrong end of a nasty jutsu of some kind.

Opening his eyes, he stared at the completely unfamiliar ceiling. Gingerly sitting up and looking around at everything else, he wasn't surprised to see that the rest of the room was unfamiliar as well. It looked like a hospital ward of some kind. There were a dozen or so beds in the room and the tall glass windows had been flung wide open to let in the cool morning breeze.

Slipping out of his bed and onto the cold floor, Sasuke padded across to them and looked out at the scene beyond. What he saw was entirely different from what he'd hoped to see.

A completely foreign world extended in all directions before him. Steep hillsides covered in lush vegetation reared up into the sky. Nestled between them rested a dark lake whose shores lapped at the edge of the grassy grounds. It appeared he was in some sort of enormous stone building and at least a few stories up. Far below he could see maybe half a dozen groups of people wandering across the grass.

"What?" muttered Sasuke, unable to find words to describe the situation he'd awoken to.

As far as he recalled, he'd gone to bed like usual last night. Waking up as he had though, made absolutely no sense.

It was also at that point in time that Sasuke realised something else was dreadfully out of place. For some reason he just didn't feel quite right. Something had changed and with a quick glance around the room, he spotted a door leading into what looked like a bathroom.

Sasuke quickly crossed the ward and entered the bathroom. Much to his disbelief, his misgivings proved to be entirely correct.

A green-eyed boy his own age looked back. The boy's black hair was shorter than his and he also realised everything was a little blurry. The boy probably wore glasses then. He was a few inches shorter than Sasuke, which had been what had tipped him off. The boy was also a bit skinnier than he was and had a strange, livid red scar on his forehead shaped like a lightning bolt but mostly hidden by his messy bangs. He was wearing a grey woolly jumper with a white shirt underneath and grey slacks. Something dried and vaguely blue was splattered across the front of his chest and when he dazedly wandered back to his bed he found a black robe slung over the end also covered in a substantial amount of the dried blue substance.

He looked at the bedside table and ignoring the polished stick, he picked up the boy's glasses beside it and put them on. He was relieved to see his vision clear instantly.

However, his small relief at the restoration of his sight did little to calm his flurry of thoughts. Currently he seemed to be alone but it didn't sound like it was going to last for long. He heard a door bang open in the next room and the sounds of three people coming in. One sounded like a young boy and the other a girl. The third was much older.

"This all your fault Ron!" the girl was saying.

"_My__fault_?" the boy cried back. "How is this _my_ fault?"

"Because you're the one that knocked the potion all over Harry and now he's unconscious in the Hospital Wing – _again_!"

"Really Miss Granger, Mr. Weasley! Can't you be quiet? There are sick people in here and I'll not have you making a racket," said an older woman's voice crossly.

Sasuke cursed softly under his breath. There was no way he wanted to talk to whoever those three people were. The entire situation had 'Orochimaru's frustrating new training technique' written all over it.

Reaching deep within himself for his chakra, he attempted to cast a simple genjutsu only to discover to his shock that the familiar energy he'd learnt to recognise as a young boy was nowhere to be found. No matter how deeply he searched within himself, it refused to answer his summons.

He could hear the three people approaching the entrance to the ward. The boy and the girl were still arguing but more quietly now and Sasuke was beginning to feel the first traces of panic he'd felt in years. Completely out of his depth with no idea as to what the Sannin had done, Sasuke realised he didn't even know how he should react. Without his chakra, he would be forced to rely on taijutsu for his defence – Orochimaru had probably deliberately set it up that way. The Sannin's methods of training after all, had always been a little unorthodox. What he needed to do he decided, was to gather information to enlighten of his situation and for that, he was going to need a place to conceal himself.

He glanced around the room looking for somewhere to hide. Underneath the bed was out of the question – a rookie mistake if ever there was one and if he didn't have any chakra there was no way he could take a quick trip out the window.

Then Sasuke suddenly remembered the cupboard in the bathroom. It was a gamble he thought as the door handle began to turn but it was all he had left. Sprinting across the room, he threw himself through the doorway without a moment to spare. A confused question from the girl as to Harry's whereabouts confirmed that Sasuke hadn't been seen. He wasted no more time in opening the door to the cupboard and worming his way back past the medical supplies and piles of linen to crouch, concealed in the back of the cupboard.

Safe within the gloom, Sasuke cursed Orochimaru and darkly wondered why this sort of thing always happened to him.

* * *

**Author****'****s****Note:**Well there you go – chapter all revised. It's been bugging me ever since I first wrote it what feels like a lifetime ago now. I have been trying to get Harry and Sasuke to act a little truer to their respective characters. Then again, it's not like I chose a simple story to write. Naruto is the hardest to write for me but keeping him simple 95% of the time and D & M the other 5% is my method of writing for him.

So hopefully typos have been corrected for this chapter and circumstances are somewhat more believable. I thought Harry's reasons for leaving Oto were pretty week in terms of plot so hopefully this is a little better.

Thanks to everyone who has followed the story thus far. I knew when I started this it would take me a long time to finish it but I'm hoping that that will certainly be the case one day. Many of you have said I have inspired them to enjoy the Harry Potter/Naruto crossover again or to try it for the first time and I wanted to thank you guys for that. My aim has always been to write one that is true to both stories but also takes the reader on an adventure unlike previous crossovers. (The whole guarding thing is so old. It's been done guys – time for some new material).

Anyway, thanks to everyone's patience and please enjoy the new chapter which will be posted tomorrow.


	2. The Lost Ninja Lands

**Chapter Two**

**The Lost Ninja Lands**

Safely hidden in the cupboard, Sasuke listened as the girl asked the older woman where had he (Harry?) gone. The woman crossly answered that she didn't know. 'He'd only been here a minute ago.' There was the sound of footsteps as presumably the woman and the boy and girl began searching the room.

Sasuke held his breath nervously as he heard someone step into the bathroom but it seemed they only took a quick look around and then left again.

"He's not here," said the girl's voice, tinged a little with alarm.

"No he isn't," agreed the woman's voice grudgingly. She tittered to herself and muttered something about 'young Mr. Potter getting an earful the next time she saw him.'

The woman said something else to the two children and after a minute or two, someone opened a door and two sets of feet left. The third (and most likely the woman) walked across the room next door and then another door opened and closed.

Sasuke waited in the murky darkness for another few minutes and then when he was sure the woman wasn't coming back, he swung the door open and snuck back into the hospital wing. The boy's stuff was where he'd left it so Sasuke quickly picked up the robe and put it on. He found the boy's shoes under the bed and after a moment or two of hesitation; he picked up the shiny stick and stuffed it in his pocket.

The main room was empty as he expected so it was easy enough to cross the room and slip out through the double doors the other two had left by. Quickly checking left and right to make sure it was clear, Sasuke decided to turn right and see where the stone corridor took him.

As he walked Sasuke fell to thinking about the events that had occurred since he'd woken up. A genjutsu was the obvious answer but he didn't know of any that were powerful enough to make him think he had no chakra what so ever.

He wasn't quite sure how to explain it but he had a feeling this was not a simple genjutsu.

Therefore, the obvious conclusion was to talk to someone about it and find out exactly what was going on. For all intents, it seemed like somehow he'd traded places with somebody else. He'd never heard of such a thing happening before but he could think of no other way to explain it. Who to confide in however, was the question because he didn't think he'd probably know anybody in the immediate vicinity.

Still mulling over these thoughts, he was surprised to round a corner and nearly bump into someone.

"I beg your pardon Mr. Potter," said the man reaching out to steady Sasuke who'd nearly fallen over backwards. "I didn't see you there."

The old man smiled at Sasuke who was a little unnerved to realise he hadn't even sensed the old man at all.

He was quite tall and appeared even older than the Third Hokage but there was something rather spry about him. He wore a long set of blue robes and had a funny lop sided hat on his head. His eyes behind his half moon spectacles were a light, clear blue.

"It's alright," Sasuke finally managed to mutter.

"Good to hear," beamed the old man. "But shouldn't you be resting in the Hospital Wing? Madam Pomfrey doesn't like her patients wandering off you know."

The old man chuckled a little but despite his easy manner, Sasuke realised that throughout the entire conversation he'd subtly evaded looking him in the eye. It was very strange he decided.

"Sir," he said to the old man, "it's rude not to look someone in the eye when you're talking to them."

The old man started in surprise and looked at Sasuke innocently. "I beg your pardon Harry but I'm not quite sure what you mean?"

Sasuke wasn't easily fooled though. He'd been around the likes of Orochimaru and Kabuto for far too long. He'd also spent time in the company of Hatake Kakashi who was more difficult to read than anyone Sasuke had ever met.

"You know what I mean Sir," answered Sasuke. He paused and gave the old man a pointed stare. He still wouldn't look Sasuke in the eye but that was enough to convince him that this might be the very man he should talk to. If he could hide his true intentions so easily then he was probably a lot sharper than he looked.

"I get the feeling you know me very well Sir but I can assure you I'm not Harry Potter."

Now the old man looked genuinely startled and Sasuke hurried on before he could say anything.

"What I mean to say is I woke up this morning in the body of Harry Potter or whoever he is, in a place I've never seen before in my entire life. Last night though, I went to bed in Oto as Sasuke Uchiha."

Sasuke frowned, realising he'd just said his name back to front for no reason he could fathom but he shrugged it off.

"Did something happen to this Harry person?" he asked the old man. "I can't feel my chakra at all so I'm pretty sure this isn't an illusion." (Wait – he meant genjutsu right?)

"I think you had better come with me Mr…" the old man paused for a moment, "Uchiha."

Giving Sasuke an unreadable look, he turned on heel and began leading Sasuke back the way he had come.

"Wait!" called Sasuke. "Do you actually believe me? I mean do you think I'm telling the truth because this is crazy. I wouldn't believe me if I were you."

"Of course I believe you," replied Dumbledore mildly over his shoulder. "If you had meant me any harm you would have acted by now. Also, stranger things have happened Mr. Uchiha. We won't know the extent and whether you're telling the truth or not until I know the full details. For now, I think it would be better to discuss this in my office."

Dumbledore said nothing more and Sasuke hesitantly relented and decided to go along with the old man for now.

They walked for several minutes and only stopped once for the old man to tell a rather funny looking painting to fetch Professor Snape at quickly as possible. Sasuke nearly threw the stick in his pocket like a kunai when the portly little man in the painting actually nodded and walked out of his frame.

The old man saw his reaction and arched a single silver eyebrow at Sasuke who gave the empty painting one last suspicious glance before he forcefully banished all emotion from his face and followed the old man once more.

They climbed up several staircases – the old man not pausing for a break at all. Without his Sharingan Sasuke was hopelessly lost despite having once had excellent recall back in the academy before his Sharingan had manifested itself.

Coming to a halt before a large stone statue of some sort of ugly looking beast, the old man said a word to it – sugar snaps – and to Sasuke's amazement, yet another inanimate object moved. This time the statue jumped aside and allowed Sasuke and the old man to climb up a spiralling stair case behind it.

They reached the top where there was a large set of polished wooden doors which the old man opened and led him through into a spacious, circular room that appeared to be an office. There was a desk on the far wide that the old man moved over to and seated himself behind while he motioned for Sasuke to take one of the rather squashy arm chairs before it.

Sasuke sat in the chair tensely, prepared for the slightest hint of a trap and politely declined a brightly coloured wrapped sweet from the small bowl the old man offered him.

Setting the bowl down, the old man folded his hands under his chin and rested his elbows on the desk. He fixed Sasuke with a penetrating stare although Sasuke noticed he still avoided looking him in the eye. He now had his gaze firmly planted on Sasuke's eyebrows.

"Now then Mr. Uchiha; I suppose I should tell you my name is Albus Dumbledore but you may call me Professor Dumbledore or Sir as you have been doing. I am the Headmaster of this school: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It's around 11 o'clock on a Saturday morning and last night the body of Mr. Harry Potter was found unconscious on the lower level corridors outside the bathroom. Peeves – our resident poltergeist – alerted the school staff to the situation when Mr. Potter collapsed. What I would like to know is if you have heard of the term 'muggle' before Mr. Uchiha."

"No I haven't…Professor Dumbledore," answered Sasuke. He also hadn't heard of Hogwarts before and with a sinking feeling, he realized that words like 'witchcraft' and 'wizardry' were about to make his life a whole lot more complicated.

"I see," said Dumbledore nodding his head thoughtfully.

He was about to continued when a sharp rap sounded on the door and then it was opened barely a moment later. Sasuke swivelled in his seat to see a dark haired man dressed in billowing black robes stepping into the room. He paused the instant his flat black eyes fell on Sasuke and then his lip curled into a malicious sneer.

"I might have known," he murmured. "Trouble seems to follow you wherever you go Potter."

Sasuke resisted glaring at the man who had no idea he wasn't actually Harry Potter.

"Ah Severus," exclaimed Dumbledore to the man. "Come in and have a seat. Sweet?"

"No," answered Snape eyeing the bowl disdainfully as he settled into the chair beside Sasuke's. "Headmaster, what's Potter done this time?"

"Well you see Severus, a rather interesting situation seems to have arisen," said Dumbledore far too brightly for Sasuke's taste. "I believe Mr. Potter had an accident in your Potions class yesterday which resulted in his collapse last night, correct?"

"He did," confirmed Snape who looked like he wasn't quite sure where this conversation was headed.

"Well then Mr. Uchiha," said Dumbledore turning to Sasuke. "Why don't you tell Professor Snape what you told me?"

"Sir?" queried Snape frowning and looking between Sasuke and Dumbledore.

"What he means Professor Snape," said Sasuke addressing the man. "Is I'm not Harry Potter. My name is Uchiha Sasuke. When I woke up this morning I was in his body here in Hogwarts. I've never met you before in my entire life and frankly I'd appreciate it if you'd stop treating me like a bug you'd take great pleasure in squashing. It's annoying."

He glared at Snape who looked appalled that had just been spoken to like that.

"That's utter rubbish Potter," he abruptly snapped. "It was just a Chrysalis Draught. Completely standard and shouldn't have had any affect on you to begin with. Then again," and Snape paused to look Sasuke up and down scornfully, "you're not exactly known for your brilliance in Potions."

"Now Severus, there's no need to insult anybody," Dumbledore said appeasingly.

He would have added something further but once again he was cut short by a knock on his door. Dumbledore paused for a moment and then politely called, "come in."

The door opened timidly to admit two teenagers Sasuke's own age. A bushy haired girl entered first and the moment she laid eyes on Sasuke she squeaked in surprise.

"Harry! My goodness, there you are! We've been looking all over for you," she exclaimed.

"What? Harry?" said a voice behind the girl who turned out to be a gangly red headed boy with half a million freckles on the bridge of his nose.

"Ah Miss Granger, Mr Weasley," said Dumbledore smiling. "Do come in. I think you may be able to help us shed some light on something."

The two teenagers obeyed shooting puzzled looks at Sasuke, Snape and the Headmaster. The red haired boy blinked stupidly the moment he saw Sasuke. It reminded him rather irritably of Naruto and he sent the red head a cold glare. The boy looked completely stumped by the look and turned in confusion to Professor Dumbledore.

"Now then," began Dumbledore. "I assume you were paired with Harry yesterday in Potions," he said to the two teenagers.

"Of course," answered the girl.

"Well then Miss Granger; did anything not on the ingredients list get added to your Chrysalis Draught?" asked Dumbledore.

"No," replied the girl confused.

"Actually," interrupted the boy shifting uncomfortably, "I knocked Neville over yesterday and he dropped a whole bunch of stuff into our potion a moment before I knocked it all over Harry."

Dumbledore sighed and Snape clenched his teeth loud enough for Sasuke to hear them grating against one another.

"Do you even know what Mr Longbottom spilt Weasley?" he asked the red headed boy scathingly.

"No," admitted Weasley turning a little pink.

Dumbledore looked even more tired after Weasley's confession. Haltingly he explained to the two teenagers (who Sasuke learned were called Ron and Hermione respectively) what Sasuke had told him. By the end of it Ron and Hermione were ogling Sasuke like some strange science experiment and Sasuke's mood was getting worse by the second.

"Look," he snapped. "Can someone please explain to me what's going on? I've already told my end three different times and just so you know, I actually have a life and some rather important things to do." He meant of course that he had to kill his brother.

"I'm sorry Sasuke but this problem isn't going to be that easy to solve," Dumbledore said gently. "At least however, we can explain to you exactly what's happened. The Chrysalis Draught is a potion designed to sooth the soul. It doesn't affect any other part of the human body and it is my assumption that Mr. Longbottom's inadvertent additions to the potion yesterday altered its properties and as a result, your soul has somehow been switched with Mr. Potter's."

"_What?_" Ron burst out and Hermione gasped. Snape looked positively livid. Sasuke couldn't seem to get any sort of expression to form on his face.

"I'm afraid so," admitted Dumbledore. "You mentioned chakra earlier Sasuke. Am I to imagine that you are a ninja?"

"Yes," acknowledged Sasuke slowly.

"Well that makes things even harder," Dumbledore said gravely.

"A ninja?" asked Ron confused.

"But Professor?" questioned Hermione. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"A ninja, as you may believe Hermione, is not the same thing as what you may have seen in muggle movies," replied Dumbledore. "In the time of the four founders of Hogwarts there was actually a relatively large land mass located off the coast of Asia in the Pacific Ocean – near Japan to be precise.

It was populated by a group of people whose magic evolved differently from the rest of the world's to become what they called chakra. It's similar but not the same thing. They used it in conjuncture with assassination techniques and espionage. As you can guess, they were an extremely sought after people for their talents and could be hired out to anyone willing to pay their price.

It created problems for the wizarding world and the ninjas themselves so in order to solve it, it was agreed that the ninja would set up a boundary and seal themselves and their lands in. To help with the separation, the wizarding world made the locations of the lands unplottable and cast many powerful spells and charms to conceal the lands forever. They did not even chose to have a secret keeper for the ninja lands because it was decided that never again would the two worlds interact. It was a sad loss in some ways but in others it had been absolutely necessary. War had gone on for far too long and millions had died because of it. In the end it was the right decision and the knowledge of the ninja lands has all but just about faded from memory."

When Dumbledore stopped there was complete and utter silence. Snape appeared to have taken the tale well. He even looked a little thoughtful in fact. Ron, as to be expected, looked stunned and Hermione's expression seemed to be warring between surprise and acceptance. Sasuke himself was completely blank. He couldn't seem to summon any sort of emotion. The story kept whirling around in his head as he tried to come to grips with it.

"So does this mean I'm stuck like this?" he asked finally.

"For the time being yes," answered Dumbledore. "I think it's safe to say Harry has most likely taken your place. However, that's no reason to fear. Professor Snape is an excellent Potions master. I'm sure in due time he will be able to concoct something to return you to your own body."

Sasuke fears however, were not placated by the Headmaster's words and it was not himself he was worried about.

"You don't understand," he tried to explain. "If my trainer finds out about this Harry's going to be in a lot of danger." Sasuke couldn't begin to describe the experiments Orochimaru would be thrilled to conduct if he found out. There was also the fact that the three year mark was coming up in a matter of weeks. Sasuke didn't want to return to discover he hadn't had a chance to escape Orochimaru and defeat his brother.

"Well I'm afraid there's nothing we can do," answered Dumbledore firmly. "There is no possible access to your world from here nor is there any way for Harry to leave and come here. I know for a fact however, that Mr Potter will be perfectly fine. He's extremely resourceful and perhaps unfortunately, he is no stranger to these kinds of difficult and unexplainable situations."

Sasuke opened his mouth to protest but Dumbledore stopped him with a wave of his hand. "Please Mr. Uchiha. You needn't worry for his safety or your body's. I give you my word everything will be absolutely fine. For the time being you will have to remain here. Harry Potter in our world is a very important figure and has a history and personality you will need to learn. Things are unstable enough that we can not simply hide you away until we solve this mess. You will have to take his place in society. Seeing as only your souls have switched and you have admitted to having no chakra I'm sure it's safe to say that you will have his abilities as a wizard – perhaps even some of his body's instincts."

Dumbledore then turned to Ron and Hermione who were looking completely poleaxed by the whole situation.

"Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger: I'm sure you will take good care of Sasuke for me won't you? Not a word of this is to leave me office and you should be aware Sasuke," and here Dumbledore smiled cheerily at Sasuke, "that Ron and Hermione are Harry's closest friends. They've been through a lot together and I think you will find their aid to be most beneficial."

"I suppose you'll be wanting me to sort this out as soon as possible Albus?" asked Snape dryly.

"That would be nice thank you Severus," replied Dumbledore.

Dumbledore gave the four of them a few more instructions, suggested Sasuke return to the Hospital Wing just for the weekend and finally bid them to go and do the best they could. If felt more like a dismissal so that the Headmaster could think Sasuke reflected but he wasn't complaining. His own mind was a mass of jumbled thoughts and he would need plenty of time to be alone and sort them out.

All to soon he found himself back out in the corridors of Hogwarts while Snape stalked off in one direction scowling and Ron and Hermione stood awkwardly beside him.

"So, er, Harry – we'll have to call you that or we might call you Sasuke accidentally," began Hermione briskly, "why don't we take you back to the Hospital Wing?"

"Alright," Sasuke agreed. "Just don't tell me anything else. I need to think."

"Too right you do mate," agreed Ron sagely. "I can't believe all this."

"Well it's your fault," pointed out Hermione.

"Hermione!" protested Ron. "We've been over this."

"Well it is!" the bushy haired girl insisted.

Ron opened his mouth to argue but Sasuke beat him to it.

"Ron just shut up," he growled.

Ron's mouth shut with a snap and he looked at Sasuke strangely.

"Blimey, I don't think you're going to have any trouble pretending to be Harry."

0-0-0-0-0-0

After Harry safely got out of sight of the two guards of Oto he broke into a steady run.

As he ran he wondered if he was even going in the right direction while his feet pounded down the footpath which soon dwindled into nothing and became a stretching grassy plane. His faintly recalled Geography lessons from what felt like years ago when he went to a normal muggle school had mentioned something about using the sun to determine the four coordinates of the compass but he couldn't remember exactly how.

Yet for the moment, he was content to get as far away as he could. He was sure once they realised he was missing that someone would be sent after him. Absently he wondered what Sasuke had been doing in Sound and if he'd be mad to find out Harry had left. Still, if he could only confirm that Sasuke at least had contacts in Konoha then for now that was good enough for him to leave and risk Sasuke's wrath the moment he sorted everything out.

Several minutes of solid running flew by but Harry found he didn't tire in the least. Curious, Harry continued, pushing himself to move as quickly as possible. When half an hour had gone by and he still hadn't tired Harry decided it might be wise to walk for a few minutes anyway.

It appeared that Sasuke was incredibly fit he reflected as he wandered through a sparse corpse of trees. He barely even felt winded and he certainly hadn't broken a sweat.

For the remainder of the day he ran in the same steady pattern; walking for a few minutes each half hour. When nightfall finally descended Harry had begun to feel a little sore but nothing like he'd expected to feel after such a long period of exercise.

He camped beneath the stars that night and dreamed of Ron and Hermione back in Hogwarts. In the dream Hermione and Ron were playing Quidditch and actually flogging Harry who uselessly snatched and grabbed, trying to steal the quaffle from them as they laughed and flew circles around him. Eventually Fred, George and Bill Weasley joined and to Harry's horror, Snape was the Seeker for their team. They played Slytherin and Malfoy laughed uproariously when Harry missed twenty goals in a row. He was just dreaming about Snape grabbing Malfoy in a headlock when he awoke to the feeling of rain on his face.

Cursing he sat up and gathered up his belongings. It was just past dawn and by the time he packed everything away and slung his bag on his back the rain had become a soaking downpour. He took off across the planes again, this time not worrying about slowing to a walk for a few minutes every half hour.

By the time he found a small village around lunch time he was tired, sore and more than a little grouchy thanks to the weather.

He stomped into town, his face as black as the thunderclouds above. When nobody seemed to want to catch his eye though, Harry tried to calm down and look a little friendlier. He didn't know whether it was the weather or his dark attire or maybe even the sword but that still didn't appear to help.

He was just getting to the point of cursing furiously after the fifth person scurried away from him when a lot of very loud yelling interrupted him.

Squinting through the rain and Sasuke's long black bangs, he was just able to make out three figures – no wait, four figures - coming out of a nearby shop.

"Geez Shikamaru! Quit been such a stick in the mud," complained a pretty teenaged girl. Her long blonde hair was quickly becoming soaked by the rain and her small purple top and skirt couldn't be too warm in this kind of weather.

The accused teenager called Shikamaru sighed and dug his hands deeper into his pockets.

"Quit complaining Ino. Tsunade's orders were not to mess around. It's just a little rain," he said to her.

"A little?!" growled the third boy who was riding on the back of the most enormous white dog Harry had ever seen. He was hunched over and the dog looked almost miserable. "It's practically an ocean out here!"

"What Tsunade-sama doesn't know won't hurt her," added Ino.

Shikamaru glared at his two companions but his expression didn't change.

"Yeah well we're wet now," he grumbled. "Might as well get going anyway."

Ino and the other boy on the dog put up a storm of protesting but Shikamaru didn't appear to be giving in. The arguing went on for another minute or two but finally they consented to do as Shikamaru had said. Mumbling under his breath, Shikamaru turned and began stalking up the road towards Harry.

As the boy on the dog turned to face him for the first time Harry noticed with a slight lurch of excitement that the boy was wearing a metal plate just like Team 7 on his forehead. When he looked at Shikamaru and Ino he also realised they were wearing them too. Ino's was slung around her waist and Shikamaru had chosen to tie his around his bicep like an armguard.

Adjusting his sodden backpack he raised one arm and called out to them.

"Hey! Are you from Konoha?"

Shikamaru's head snapped up immediately and his attention latched onto Harry. His face was so surprised that Harry was caught a little off guard. It almost looked like Shikamaru thought he was seeing a ghost.

A little distracted Harry nearly missed the incoming whistling of a flying projectile. Some instinct made him dodge to the side at the last second. He tripped and fell in the mud and looked up in shock as another weapon flew through the air at him. The boy on the dog had thrown it but Ino beside him couldn't seem to move. Her wide eyes were firmly on Harry who rolled out of the way and flinched as another missile flew by but managed to clip his face.

An agonizing pain in his leg a second later told him he'd finally been hit and he sat on his backside in the mud clutching at the injury. He couldn't seem to make himself move any more and he yelled before choking it off as a third missile struck him in the shoulder.

"Hey stop it!" Harry managed to choke out between hitching breaths as he fought the pain. "What the hell are you doing?"

To his relief the boy did stop throwing things at him and Shikamaru - who'd been hurtling at break neck speed towards him - skidded to a halt in the mud before Harry.

"What is your problem?" Harry furiously asked Shikamaru who looked completely stunned. "Geez! I just wanted to know if you were from Konoha."

"You don't…recognise us?" asked Shikamaru softly.

"Why? Should I?" spat Harry angrily.

The combined injuries were really beginning to hurt. Pulling away his pant leg he tried to examine the wound which had – no surprises – a ninja throwing star in it.

"But I don't get it!" exclaimed the boy on the dog coming up. Ino trailed quietly behind. "How can you not recognise us? We haven't changed that much have we?"

What the boy said suddenly clicked and with a sinking feeling Harry realised that maybe Sasuke knew these people and from the looks of it, hadn't exactly been on friendly terms.

"Er, I don't know," said Harry quickly trying to think of something to say.

"I lost my memory," he lied. "Should I know you?"

"Nara Shikamaru, Yamanka Ino and I'm Inuzuka Kiba. We went to the academy with you, you jerk!" He glowered angrily at Harry.

"Did I do something to you?" asked Harry. He narrowed his eyes at them and the action seemed to finally be enough to shake Ino from her stupor.

"Do something? Sasuke you arse! You only up and left Konoha! You're a traitor to the village and I won't forgive you for making Sakura cry like that," she yelled.

"Wait! Sakura? Do you know her? Haruno Sakura?" asked Harry eagerly latching onto the familiar name. He ignored the bit about the traitor part – he had no idea what Sasuke had done.

"Of course Sakura!" snapped Ino. "She was only on your team. What's the matter? Forgotten what she looks like to?"

"No I really can't remember," insisted Harry. "Look," he said taking his back pack off and opening it. He pulled out the photo he'd found and held it up for them to see.

"This is the only thing I could find in my room," he said.

In two seconds flat Ino had snatched the photograph out of his hands and Shikamaru and Kiba had crowded closer to look at it.

"When I woke up this morning I couldn't remember anything," Harry continued, trying to give his lie some credibility. "This grey haired man visited me and he wasn't exactly very friendly to me. There were no other photos anywhere in the room so I assumed these people were pretty important to me. I don't even know if I have any family but I decided I didn't want to hang around in Oto."

"You just decided?" scowled Shikamaru looking up from the photo. "The Uchiha Sasuke I know doesn't care what other people think of him or how he's treated."

"Well maybe I do!" snarled Harry who was getting a little tired of all the hostility.

"Look, can someone please get these out?" he asked, indicating the two embedded throwing stars.

The three teenagers looked at him a little strangely then.

"What?"

"Well normally you just yank them out and get on with it," replied Ino.

Harry stared at them for a moment before he realised they were serious. The steel stars hurt like hell and he couldn't believe he was going to have to get them out himself.

Steeling himself, Harry gripped the one in his shoulder and yanked – hard. It came out easily enough but the pain made him let out a small cry. Tears gathered in his eyes and he hoped the others wouldn't notice them in the rain.

Taking a few deep breaths he reached for the other one but to his surprise Kiba got to it first. He yanked it out quickly making Harry yell louder this time. He'd been caught off guard and he looked blurrily at Kiba who was regarding him strangely.

"Geez you really did go and loose your memory," he muttered.

He united the bandages around Harry's legs and used them to tie off his two small wounds instead.

"How much did you loose?"

"Practically everything," Harry replied with a sour laugh. "I can just walk, talk and eat and that's about it."

Shikamaru sighed and rubbed his hand distractedly against the back of his neck.

"I guess you're coming back to Konoha with us then," he said.

Ino grinned brightly at his announcement.

"Well that's great!" she exclaimed. "Wait until Sakura and Naruto find out! They're gonna be so surprised and I'm gonna make Sakura so jealous."

She giggled to herself and the boys glanced at one another and simultaneously rolled their eyes.

"Let's just get going," grumbled Shikamaru who looked like he'd had more than enough of standing about in the rain.

"Hey shouldn't we tie him up or something?" interrupted Kiba.

"I don't think we need to, right Uchiha?" drawled Shikamaru. He looked Harry firmly in the eye.

"No," promised Harry quickly. "I want to go to Konoha."

"Happy?" Shikamaru asked Kiba.

"I guess" muttered the other boy.

"Besides," Shikamaru continued, "if you do run Uchiha don't think we won't pursue and kill you alright?"

"…Sure," promised Harry a lot more reluctantly this time. Shikamaru was looking at him seriously again and something made Harry believe he'd keep his word.

These teenagers were a lot more dangerous than he'd first thought. From here on in he was going to have to be careful. He only hoped returning to Konoha had been the right decision.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Well I hope everyone enjoyed that. I really enjoyed writing it and I know it was a lot of blah, blah but it needed to be said. Things should start getting interesting from now on.

I see I didn't get too many reviews for the first chappie which was a little disappointing but I suppose crossovers aren't all that popular anyway. If anyone feels like making suggestions or if they even want to ask a question or something then drop me a line. Thanks!


	3. In Sickness and Health

**Chapter Three **

**In Sickness and Health **

They camped that night in a clearing in the woods they'd entered shortly after lunch. The rain had let up some time around mid afternoon but Harry was still frozen, tired and fairly certain he was getting a cold. He'd managed to change into another set of clothes but they were still semi-damp and they rubbed against his bandages horribly and made the wounds itch.

The others didn't ask him to do anything but Harry lamely insisted on cooking the fish Kiba brought back. He did an average job but even Shikamaru grudgingly admitted he was impressed. (Apparently no one is their group could cook that well so Harry's less than mediocre job was virtually considered fine dining.)

Harry collapsed onto the damp grass after that and shoved his soggy backpack under his head for a pillow. The others were all sleeping on thin mats which they'd unrolled and Harry wished he'd brought one to. He'd seen one in Sasuke's room but at the time hadn't realised what it was. There didn't appear to be a spare and Harry didn't ask if there was one.

He wasn't sure how but eventually he fell into a miserable sleep and was awoken the next morning by a nudge in the ribs from Shikamaru.

Harry moaned and curled up into a tighter ball. Dew covered his clothing and skin and his head ached almightily.

"Get up," Shikamaru grunted.

"Can't," Harry's muffled voice came from between his arms. He winced at the lancing pain in his throat. He was definitely sick.

"I said get up already Uchiha," grumbled Shikamaru in exasperation. He gave Harry a solid shove with his foot this time which rolled Harry onto his back. He squinted pathetically and brought a hand up to shield his eyes from the pale sunlight. He could barely make out Shikamaru's outline leaning over him.

"What are you sick or something?" Shikamaru criticized.

"Yes," answered Harry bluntly.

Shikamaru snorted and moved away but Harry reluctantly sat up anyway. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt this terrible. It definitely felt worse than some of the things that had landed him in the Hospital Wing before.

Somehow he managed to help pack up the camp and then the four of them and the one dog moved out. For the remainder of the day no one bothered to say much – at least not to him. Harry concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other while he absently listened to Ino and Kiba do their best to drive Shikamaru up the wall. Strangely the other teenager almost seemed too lazy to get angry about it.

They stopped for lunch in another clearing that looked just the same as the rest and then continued on. Harry was feeling so light headed by that stage that he could no longer keep up the steady jog the others were moving at. He fell into a walk and couldn't summon the energy to go any faster for the rest of the day. Kiba complained because he'd wanted to reach Konoha tonight but even he could see that Harry didn't look to good.

Harry's pale skin or Sasuke's as he had to remind himself, was almost white and Kiba had sneeringly pointed out the bags under Harry's eyes. Shikamaru was incredibly irritated by the change of pace but Harry noted that Ino, when not looking annoyed herself, shot Harry sympathetic glances.

When the sun set Harry stopped. He couldn't go another step and no amount of anything from anyone else was going to make him.

"Go on, do whatever you want," Harry tiredly told them. "I'm not going another step today though."

"It's just a little head cold," snapped Ino who was desperate for a shower and her own bed tonight as she'd told them five times in the last half hour. "Quit being such a wimp."

"When you're in my body and you can experience what I am then you can form your own judgement about it," Harry replied testily.

"Well I could do that you know," Ino challenged.

Harry look at her suspiciously and he only grew more wary when he noticed Kiba smirking. "What are you talking about?"

"Ino's clan jutsu allows her mind to leave her body and take over yours," explained Shikamaru. His serious stare informed Harry he wasn't joking.

"You can do that?" he asked Ino sharply.

"Of course," grinned the blond slyly. "I could even take a look through your memories Sasuke-kun to determine whether you're lying or not."

"You wouldn't dare!" answered Harry stiffly, filled with dread at what would happen if she did.

"I just might," threatened Ino.

"You just won't," butted in Shikamaru flatly. "If Uchiha isn't lying then his Sharingan will be more than enough to destroy your mind Ino. I wouldn't risk it."

Ino looked a little horrified at the thought and immediately backed off.

_Sharingan? _Harry wondered in confusion.

After that there was no more talk between them and everyone quietly set up camp. Harry went to bed without dinner, his mind troubled by the thought of the jutsu thing Ino could do and his throat aching badly enough that he didn't want to speak another word if he could help it.

He was beginning to think that there was a lot more to this than these people just being regular muggles. Their weapons made him think of assassinations in the dark and warriors. In contrast, the jutsu thing sounded like some sort of magic because he didn't think that kind of technology was around to allow one person to leave their body and enter another's. There just wasn't any other kind of explanation.

What bugged him the most though, was that he'd never heard of these kinds of people before. He'd have to ask one of them tomorrow – preferably Shikamaru who seemed to be the more mature one of the group and the self-elected leader.

With that in mind Harry fell into a deep, exhausted sleep and woke the next morning to discover he didn't have a sore throat anymore but his nose was clogged badly enough that when he talked he sounded like Crabbe and Goyle at their thickest.

"Dar we gonda reach Konoha t'day?" Harry asked Shikamaru as he slung his bag on his back.

"In a couple of hours," replied Shikamaru with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Man you sound worse than Lee when he's drunk," snickered Kiba who had overheard Harry's stuffy question.

"Least di don't look like a vampire," grumbled Harry who was in any case feeling a little better than yesterday.

"What d'ya mean vampire?" objected Kiba hotly.

"I dought da fangs were an obvidos give away," muttered Harry.

Kiba advanced a step looking like he wanted to beat the stuffing out of Harry but Shikamaru caught his shoulder before he could.

"Quit been such an arse. Are you _trying_ to go out of your way to cause me trouble?" he complained.

"He's still a bastard Shikamaru," protested Kiba angrily, "even if he does talk more now than he used to."

"He's sick and according to him he doesn't have much of a memory," Ino piped up petulantly eyeing the two boys. "Besides, you're completely impossible when you've got something Kiba. Don't think I don't remember you begging Iruka-sensei to let you go home back in the academy or else you'd die. That was just a mild stomach ache."

Kiba huffed crossly and swung a leg over his dog's back.

"Well come on then," he grouched. "We've got a village to get to."

Without another word they moved out. Harry was feeling fit enough to move at a jog again and just grateful that his cold hadn't taken a turn for the worse. Knowing his luck, he had been sure it would.

According to Shikamaru an hour or so later, they would reach the outskirts of the village boundaries in another hour and would be in Konoha in less than twenty minutes after that.

As they jogged Harry felt a growing sense of trepidation. He still knew very little about Sasuke's life but it seemed he'd left his village some time ago and there were very bitter feelings towards him because of it.

Eventually he hesitantly asked Shikamaru about it.

"How long ago did di leave?"

"Nearly three years actually," answered Shikamaru.

"Dis it bad to leave da village due grew up in or dumthing?" Harry asked.

Kiba snorted. "Bad? Of course it's bad especially if you're a ninja."

"Nidja?" queried Harry in confusion.

"As a ninja it's your duty to protect the village you idiot," Kiba replied. "That's why the village takes it so hard when you leave. You're a valuable asset to it. People put a lot of time and effort into training you so of course they're gonna be pissed off when you up and take off."

"I mudst have had da reason," answered Harry simply.

"You probably did," agreed Ino a touch bitterly. "But whatever it was you didn't tell us. You just went running off to that snake Orochimaru for power."

"Snake?"

Harry didn't like the sounds of that. It reminded him vividly of Voldermort and the events of last summer. He shivered a little, remembering the lifeless eyes of Cedric Diggory. He still got nightmares about that sometimes.

"Bastard has snakes for summons," growled Kiba. "He's the most slimy traitor to Konoha yet."

"And di went do 'im huh?" asked Harry.

"You did," agreed Shikamaru then added thoughtfully, "a bit before that you got attached by someone though. The Fifth never let on whom and it was kept under wraps but I think that probably had something to do with it. If Naruto and Sakura found out they never said anything."

"Huh," muttered Harry and fell silent. They'd given him a lot to think about and for now he thought it probably wise not to say anything further.

Sasuke's betrayal sounded like a big deal and he realised getting back into Konoha might not go all that smoothly. The people Sasuke had grown up with seemed to have taken his departure hard but he had the niggling feeling that there was more to this than they knew. Whatever the case he just hoped Sasuke wasn't too upset when he got his body back. From the sounds of it, it had been a good idea to leave Orochimaru and come back to Konoha. If Harry could salvage Sasuke's reputation in his home village then maybe that'd be enough to make up for his inconvenient mind switch. He hated to think what Sasuke was going through right now in Hogwarts.

A few minutes before they reached the border Shikamaru called a halt and turned to Harry.

"Do you remember how to henge?" he asked.

"Di don't even dnow what dat is," confessed Harry.

"That's fine," drawled Shikamaru. "I'll do it for you but we'll still have to tell the guard on the gate. They'll know you're disguised and we'll have to tell them who you really are."

"Den why bodher?" asked Harry.

"Because you're Uchiha Sasuke," replied Kiba like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You're a betrayer to the village and you'll get a lot of attention from people the moment you come into the village. We need to see the Hokage before anybody else."

"All dright," agreed Harry.

With a nod, Shikamaru turned to face him and made a series of quick shapes with his hands. Harry jumped when a puff of smoke exploded around him and tried to wave it away before he realised it'd disappeared all on its own.

He looked up to see Ino and Kiba ogling him. A second later Kiba's face lit up and he burst out laughing.

"Oi Shikamaru!" growled Ino rounding on the other boy. "What's the big idea?"

Harry looked down at himself and realized why Kiba was laughing so hard. Shikamaru had henged him into a girl. He'd seen fit to dress him in an embarrassingly tight black shirt and a rather short skirt leaving his mid drift bare like Ino's. Tomato red hair fell into his eyes and he was sure his face was red enough to match.

"You've got a really cruel sense of humour Shikamaru you know that?" remarked Ino. By that stage Kiba was laughing hard enough that he'd tumbled off his dog.

Harry couldn't seem to say anything and finally settled for glaring heatedly at Shikamaru.

"Can dwe go yet?" he asked crossly.

"Mm, I suppose," murmured Shikamaru. His entire expression was blank as if he didn't find his little prank the least bit amusing.

Once again he turned and led the way.

Just as Shikamaru promised the trees ahead suddenly cleared roughly twenty minutes later and Harry found himself standing before a massive wall with a huge gate set in it and two men waiting for them who could only be the mentioned guards.

"Welcome back Sasuke-kun!" grinned Ino.

Harry sighed dispiritedly. He wasn't so sure it was actually good to be back. At least not for Sasuke anyway.

0-0-0-0-0-0

"So, do you want to try it?"

Hermione looked at Sasuke expectantly and he sighed. What she'd just shown him he was having a hard time processing. She'd just made an apple zoom up into the air and fly around the room crazily for several minutes. It was the first 'spell' she'd shown him and apparently it was something they learnt in their first year.

Sasuke however, was still trying to understand the fact that she'd done this 'magically.' It seemed like something out of a fairy tale and he was glad at least that she and Ron (who was snoring on a nearby bed in the afternoon sun) had left him alone yesterday after they'd departed from Dumbledore's office. If she'd shown him then he might have been tempted to do something rather stupid.

He'd spent the rest of the afternoon thinking about what Dumbledore had told him and wondering what Harry was doing in his body. When he'd got up a few hours ago Hermione had appeared with a sleepy Ron in tow and had set about giving Sasuke a brief summary of Harry's life so far.

According to her he was an orphan and the only person in history to have survived the Avada Kervada or killing curse. That was the reason for the livid scar on Sasuke's face and also made Sasuke something of a celebrity much to his annoyance.

His parents had been James and Lily Potter who had been murdered by a man called Lord Voldermort. After their deaths and Voldermort's subsequent disappearance, he lived with his Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia and his cousin Dudley (who all went very nice or as Ron put it, were a bunch of stinking muggles).

He'd come to Hogwarts when he was eleven and been placed in Gryffindor, one of the four school houses. He hated a boy named Draco Malfoy in Slytherin house, he was an excellent Quidditch player (whatever that was) and he was fairly average in his classes besides Defence Against the Dark Arts which he apparently excelled at. He'd also, over the years, come face to face with Voldermort several times and had been the sole witness to his resurrection the previous school year.

Currently Harry was very much disliked due to the mistruths spun about him in the Daily Prophet. All in all, Sasuke wished none of this had ever happened to him. He was now living what felt like a fairytale and Harry's life was a living nightmare. So when Hermione asked him to try the same spell he bluntly told her 'no.'

"No?" repeated Hermione. "But Sasuke you have to learn it. If you ever want to successfully pretend to be Harry you've got to do it."

"Well I don't want to," snapped Sasuke angrily. "None of this is my fault! I shouldn't even be here."

"Well frankly I don't want you here either," Hermione retorted waspishly. "You're rude and selfish and honestly, I much preferred Harry's company."

"Say what you want," replied Sasuke coldly. "It's not like I haven't heard it all before."

"Well if you've heard it before then you might want to take note of it!"

"If you think I put myself through hell and back for my on selfish reasons then you're just as blind as the rest of them," snarled Sasuke.

The bushy haired girl wasn't easily intimidated though. "Well that's your business Sasuke but right now we're talking about the present," she retorted. She stalked over to Sasuke and leaned forward so that she was looking him in the eye. Her painful invasion of his personal space made Sasuke tip back a little and venomously glare at her.

"You're being a selfish prat!" she insisted. "Show some backbone and actually help us instead of making our lives difficult. Don't forget who you're depending on to get you back to normal."

A sharp lance of anger ripped though Sasuke at her words and he had her wrist in a vice like grip instantly.

"Fine!" he gritted knowing she could see every ounce of ferocity in his face and feel the furious tenseness of his hand encircling her wrist. "Just stop yapping at me about it. Where I come from magic doesn't exist."

Sasuke let go of her hand and Hermione quickly snatched it back, her eyes wide as she examined the red marks on her flesh. Sasuke couldn't seem to find it him to say sorry but perhaps a small part of him felt a little guilty. Through it all, Ron had slept on unaware.

Sighing and raking a hand through his hair, Sasuke picked up Harry's wand and tried to mimic what Hermione had shown him.

"Is this how you do the motion?" Sasuke queried brusquely. "And it's _Wingardium Leviosa_ right?"

"Yes," confirmed Hermione quietly. She still looked a little wary but Sasuke ignored her and concentrated on getting it right.

"Wingardium Leviosa," he said clearly and flicked Harry's wand as Hermione had at the same apple.

It immediately began spinning like a top and then it shot up into the air. It whizzed around the room several times far more quickly than Hermione's had and abruptly careered to a halt and exploded in a shower of flesh and juice. Flecks of apple flew everywhere; several small chunks pelted Ron's arms and face. The red head woke with a start and blinked uncomprehendingly at the mess all over him.

"Wha' 'appened?" he slurred.

"Huh, guess that didn't go to plan," muttered Sasuke. He was more than a little displeased with the results.

"No," agreed Hermione with a small frown.

Sasuke resisted the urge to throw Harry's wand in a fit of temper. _I haven't done that since I was seven _he had to remind himself.

"It should have though," Hermione continued. "You did everything correctly which is more than I can say for Harry and Ron when they first tried it."

"Tried what?" grumbled Ron wiping bits of apple off his sleeve in disgust.

"Wingardium Leviosa," replied Hermione.

"Oh," said Ron. Turning a little red, he looked away and didn't say anything further. Sasuke was too aggravated by what had just happened to ask.

"So what did go wrong then?" Sasuke asked.

"I'm not sure," replied Hermione, "but I may have an idea." She broke off, looking thoughtful and Sasuke tried to control his patience. Ron however, was not nearly as enduring.

"What idea?"

"It's just a thought," began Hermione slowly, "but maybe the reason the spell won't work is because it knows Harry's not really Harry. There's only one wand for a wizard after all."

"So does that mean I don't have any magic?" asked Sasuke.

"Well have you ever had anything unexplainable happen to you?" Hermione asked in return.

Sasuke opened his mouth to say no but paused, remembering his sudden jump from the middle of the Hospital Wing to the bathroom. At the time he'd put it off as a hallucination but perhaps it'd been more real than he'd first thought.

"Yes," he answered hesitantly. "I moved from one spot to another in a split second."

"Well that's good," said Hermione. "That's means Harry's body still has magic so I guess there's only one thing to do."

"What?" asked Ron expectantly.

"Go to Ollivander's of course and get Sasuke a new wand. We'll just say he broke the old one."

With that decided, Hermione led the way to the Headmaster's office. Professor Dumbledore was reading documents when they arrived but readily agreed to allow the three to quickly go to Ollivander's for a new wand. He asked Sasuke how he was doing and his surly reply was enough to make Dumbledore chuckle. Sasuke didn't find it the least bit funny but chose not to comment.

Floo powder, as it turned out, wasn't that different from some of Sasuke's more physical taijutsu moves. A lot of taijutsu utilized chakra to aid it and Sasuke found the whirring ride through the green flames rather similar.

He landed with perfect ease on the charred mat in Ollivander's Wand shop much to the surprise of Ron and Hermione who'd gone first. While the experience itself had been more than a little unnerving, Sasuke found if he didn't think about it too much he wasn't as bothered by it.

"Blimey, never seen you land that one before Harry." Ron shot Sasuke a cheeky grin even though he had no idea what Ron was talking about. He shrugged it off and followed the other two into the front of the wand shop.

It was rather dusty Sasuke reflected and the afternoon sunlight could only stream weakly through the grimy windows. There was definitely a certain uninhabited air about the shop but a moment later a slightly bent old man shuffled out from the gloom between the towering shelves stacked high with hundreds upon thousands of boxes.

"Ah, Mr Potter, Mr Weasley and Miss Granger: what can I do for you? I hope you haven't come about another broken wand Mr Weasley."

The old man gave Ron a rather shrewd look from behind his bottle capped glasses.

"Oh it's not me this time," Ron hastily sought to correct the old man. "It's Harry that needs a new wand."

"Please Mr. Ollivander, could you help us?" asked Hermione politely. She shot Ron a dark look but he didn't seem to notice.

"Hmm, that's a shame," said Ollivander. He looked Sasuke up and down and sighed to himself.

"That's was a fine wand I sold you," he mumbled. "It'll be hard to find another worthy enough to take its place."

He turned away and moved off into the back of the shop. They could hear him muttering to himself and shifting things about. Sasuke and Hermione waited quietly but Ron quickly grew bored and began fiddling with some of the knick knacks on the counter.

Eventually Ollivander came back with an armload of boxes. He saw Sasuke's quizzical glance and smiled a little.

"After last time Mr. Potter I think it'll take quit some time to find you a new wand."

He set them down and opened the first box.

"Here we are. Nine inches and carved from yew. Contains a single unicorn hair – excellent for transfiguration. You know the drill, just give it a wave," commanded Ollivander.

Sasuke took the offered wand and hesitantly gave it a small flick. The latest knick knack Ron had picked up exploded into a gooey mess.

"Eh! Revolting," he complained. With a practice flick Hermione vanished the mess and Sasuke immediately returned the wand.

"Hmm, I suppose not," muttered Ollivander. "How about this one? Hawthorn, thirteen inches; contains a harpy feather. Nasty one for curses."

Ollivander handed Sasuke a second wand and he dutifully waved it once again. He almost dropped it when it emitted a high pitched, keening wail.

"Definitely not," said Ollivander, firmly snatching the wand back. He handed Sasuke another wand which held a mermaid scale. This one too wasn't any good.

Sasuke went through the entire armload on the counter and another load after that. Sometimes the wand barely got into his hands before Ollivander asked for it back and other times the wand almost seemed to be right but Ollivander would decide against it. "It has to be exactly right Mr Potter," Ollivander told Sasuke who was growing incredibly impatient.

"Hmm, I think I may have it," he finally said when Sasuke handed back what felt like the millionth wand.

"Try this," Ollivander said. He handed Sasuke a much smaller wand than the others. Its polished dark surface glinted with a strange, deep red colour in the dim light.

"Seven inches, mahogany – light but powerful. Contains a single fang from a particularly vicious Chinese Fireball. Excellent for the aspiring Auror."

Sasuke took the wand; sure that Ollivander's guess was correct. Seven inches was too much not to be a coincidence. A warm tingly feeling ran up his arm the moment he took the proffered wand. He turned to Ron and Hermione who were seated in a pair of rickety old chairs by the door.

"Wingardium Leviosa," he said clearly. He flicked the wand confidently at Hermione's bag on the floor beside her feet. It leapt into the air and followed Sasuke's indications as he directed it to float around the shop.

"Excellent!" beamed Mr Ollivander. "I had a feeling that might be the one. You've always had an affinity for fire Mr Potter but your old wand was a good few inches longer than this one. Normally the length doesn't change which is why it took me so long to find the right one."

They paid for the wand in quick order and went back to the fireplace, Ron glaring darkly at Sasuke as they went because he'd purposefully dropped the heavy bag on Ron's lap.

When they stepped out of the fireplace Dumbledore wasn't there but Hermione bossily ushered them out of his office before they could poke about.

They passed a few students in the corridors on the way back to the Hospital Wing. Most generally didn't look twice but Sasuke noticed a lot of the older students around their age stared at him. Hermione's warnings about Harry's reputation had been correct it seemed.

The moment Sasuke laid eyes on one particular blonde boy around their age though, he knew the boy wasn't simply going to walk past quietly. Ron groaned beside him and Hermione anxiously looked sideways for an escape route. Unfortunately there weren't any.

"So Potter," sneered the blonde boy halting in front of him. Two big brutes stopped half a step behind him but the boy didn't acknowledge them as his cold grey eyes took in Sasuke's appearance. He could practically taste the malicious intent from the other boy and he was pretty sure he knew who this was.

"I hear you fainted – again. I swear you're afraid of your own shadow. First dementors and now poltergeists? What next? Doxies?"

The boy laughed, amused by his own sarcasm. Ron didn't react well though.

"You're one to talk Malfoy! You don't go anywhere without your pet gorillas Crabbe and Goyle. If you ask me I reckon someone else is afraid of their own shadow."

"Well no one asked you did they Weasel?" replied Malfoy coolly, not rising to the bait. Ron practically towered over Malfoy but the blond Slytherin didn't appear the least bit cowed. He couldn't be with those two 'gorillas' at his back.

"What's the matter Potter," taunted Malfoy over Ron's shoulder. "Need your Weasel to stick up for you?"

"Why you slimy git!" exploded Ron. He went to grab Malfoy's robes but Crabbe and Goyle instantly moved to intercept him. It was Sasuke however, who caught the back of Ron's uniform and hauled him back.

"Sit down idiot," he snapped. "Let the little guy insult me if he wants. I don't care."

"_Little guy_?" hissed Malfoy.

Incensed, he whipped out his wand and pointed it at Sasuke.

"Who do you think you are Potter?" He spat Harry's name like it was a curse.

"Harry Potter," answered Sasuke calmly. "Who are you?"

Hermione gasped softly and yanked on Sasuke's robes.

"Harry don't!" she whispered. "Malfoy's not above cursing you."

"That's right, listen to the Mudblood Potter," jeered Malfoy.

Hermione went white at the name and Ron advanced irately on Malfoy. The Slytherin swung his wand around to point at Ron and Sasuke instantly seized his chance.

He rushed Malfoy who had no time to react. He tried to throw a spell at Sasuke but he was too late and the jet of crackling red light went flying off in another direction. Sasuke caught Malfoy in the mid drift using his shoulder like a battering ram to smash him into Crabbe and Goyle. Physically he wasn't much of a threat – it was the bigger two Sasuke knew he needed to be wary of.

He viciously stomped on Malfoy's wrist and kicked his wand out of his hand. Malfoy shouted in pain but Sasuke ignored him and kicked Goyle's legs out from under him as he tried to get up. Crabbe made to grab his arm but Sasuke darted out of his reach and was about to kick Goyle down again when Hermione shot two quick spells at Crabbe and Goyle. Ropes wrapped themselves tightly around the two Slytherins and Sasuke stopped as she advanced on him furiously.

"Harry you complete idiot! Do you want to get kicked out for fighting?"

"They were asking for it," Sasuke answered not feeling the least bit guilty. He'd done worse to Naruto after all.

"That's no excuse!" cried Hermione shrilly.

"Look," snapped Sasuke who didn't appreciate her opinion in the least. "If he's going to threaten me I'm going to defend myself. Attack is the best form of defence. Don't expect me to stand back and let him fry my arse."

Stiff with anger, Sasuke stalked past the whimpering Malfoy and his bound 'gorillas'.

After a moment Hermione sighed in exasperation and hurried after Sasuke, Ron close behind her.

"Maybe you did get a little carried away," said Ron awkwardly. Sasuke shot him a cold glare.

"I'm just saying you could have walked away."

"You were getting set to pound him yourself," Sasuke retorted.

"Yeah well…someone usually stops me before I get the chance to," he mumbled.

"Do you know a lot about fighting Sasuke?" asked Hermione hesitantly. She seemed to have pushed aside her anger for now in light of her curiosity.

"Of course," replied Sasuke. "I don't know what you think a ninja is but where I come from you start learning as young as four. Most people kill their first opponent by the time they're twelve or thirteen."

Sasuke's negligent explanation didn't go down so well though. Ron looked thunderstruck and Hermione something akin to horrified.

"You're kidding?" muttered Ron disbelievingly.

"No, I'm not," Sasuke answered seriously.

"Enemy ninja don't just let you go. More often than not it's either kill or be killed. When I was twelve we took on a mission and came up against an elite level ninja and his dangerously skilled ward that had a powerful bloodline technique. My team mate and I got trapped by his special bloodline and we had to kill him to get free. I nearly died in the process."

Neither Ron nor Hermione knew what to say to that so they walked on in silence. He didn't begrudge them their naivety. Civilians lived in much the same manner and it was a life Sasuke secretly hoped to experience after he killed his brother. Of course, he'd always be a ninja, he knew that. But doing something like teaching at the academy of guard duty would be a wonderful luxury to have after the life he'd led. It wasn't exactly interesting but Sasuke liked to think it'd be more than enough for him.

They reached the Hospital Wing and Sasuke firmly bid Ron and Hermione goodbye. They didn't argue with him at least and quickly left him under the hawk-like gaze of Madam Pomfrey.

* * *

**Author's Note:** So how was that? Lots of fighting and interacting going on. Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed it and that they'll be lots of lovely reviews left for me. Thanks!


	4. Sasuke's Boggart

**Chapter Four **

**Sasuke's Boggart **

Later that evening Sasuke perched on the window ledge in the hospital wing, allowing the frigid night air to chill his skin. Madam Pomfrey would have had a fit if she saw him and would have ordered him down but he was fairly sure she'd retired for the night so he didn't have to worry about her screeching at him.

There was no moon out but the stars were bright in its absence and there were a number of constellations Sasuke had never seen before. As a kid, he vaguely remembered a few stories his mother had told him about the stars and doubtless, the ones above had there own. Mentally he noted that it might be wise to learn some of them so that he could track any destination if he needed to.

Sasuke felt tired but he couldn't sleep. The thoughts of the last three days were crowding his mind and he couldn't seem to sort them out. It'd been two days since he'd really thought about Itachi or Orochimaru. Otogakure and the last three years seemed like a far away dream. In contrast, though Hogwarts was no Konoha, for some reason it felt like the days with Team 7 again. Ron and Hermione were strangely alike to Naruto and Sakura although at the same time, there were some very obvious differences.

Hermione shared Sakura's brains and her bossiness but she was in no way in love with him and she was far more confident in herself and her abilities than his pink haired team mate was. Ron on the other hand, shared a love for food and fun just like Naruto. He was also just as hot headed but he lacked Naruto's distinctive stubbornness. He gave up easily and he seemed quite happy playing second place to Harry who was the evident leader of the trio.

Sasuke considered it a little strange. He'd always competed with Naruto over everything and hadn't liked Sakura's clingy nature. Now, he didn't actually mind having Hermione around and Ron always went along with whatever Sasuke said. He still didn't like being around people and their presence made him uncomfortable but their company was the easiest he'd ever had to endure.

Tomorrow however, worried him more than his personal opinion of Harry's friends. He'd only learnt one spell and while he wasn't a stranger to 'winging' it, he didn't feel comfortable not being in control. What he needed was more time and he couldn't understand the push to get him back out in society.

He sighed and tossed a chip of rock he'd broken from the castle wall into the darkness below. Even though he strained his ears, he couldn't hear the sound of the rock hitting the grass below. That wouldn't have happened in his old body. He would have heard it clearly but despite Harry's relative fitness, his body just wasn't on par with Sasuke's own. He was going to have to do some serious training, especially if he wanted to stay ahead of the likes of Malfoy and his goons. He needed to build up the speed necessary to dodge spells which travelled just as quickly as any shuriken and he also needed to keep his training up. He didn't know how long he'd be stuck like this but he couldn't afford to go back and be at the same level or worse that he had been when he'd left.

"Sasuke?"

Startled, Sasuke turned at the sound of Hermione's voice. He hadn't even heard her come in and now she was standing in the soft lamp light by his bed.

"Hermione," he acknowledged. "What is it?" Her face looked funny, like she was struggling to smile but actually wanted to burst into tears. She opened her mouth to say something, paused and finally buried her face in her hands and broke into loud sobs.

Sasuke watched her passively, a little alarmed by the tears but with a soft sigh, he hopped off the window sill and went over to the crying girl.

"What's the matter?" he asked bluntly.

It took her several moments to collect herself and wipe the tears away. "I'm sorry, I know you're not Harry but I had a fight with Ron and none of the other girls were around to talk to. It happens a lot but this one got a little ugly."

"So?" replied Sasuke feeling a little awkward. "Like you said, I'm not Harry. Ron's an idiot though so if you want my advice, ignore him."

Hermione smiled a little. "Thanks Sasuke."

Sasuke snorted derisively at her apology. He didn't like tears. They were a sign of emotion and he hadn't cried since he was eight. At least Hermione had stopped.

"I actually didn't want to talk to you about that," confessed Hermione. "You see, as much as you won't admit it, I'm sure you're worried about tomorrow."

"Hn," replied Sasuke neither admitting it nor denying it as Hermione had predicted.

"Anyway, I have a solution. It's illegal and will get us in a whole lot of trouble if anyone finds out but Dumbledore actually suggested it to me and he's right. I'm sure you'd like to be a little more prepared. After all, Harry Potter isn't just anybody."

Watching curiously, Sasuke observed Hermione as she pulled something out from beneath her robes. It was a strange, round golden thing secured to a chain that hung around her neck.

"What's that?" he asked suspiciously.

"A time turner," she replied. "It'll take you either backwards or forwards in time. In my third year I took a large number of classes and I was given this to allow me to have enough time each day to go to each one. Of course, the reason they're so dangerous is because if everybody had one anyone could go back in time and change the past. It's also imperative that under no circumstances are you seen by your past self. Harry did that once but was lucky that his past self thought he was seeing his Dad."

Arching an eyebrow, Sasuke stared at Hermione in disbelief. "The whole magic thing I can fathom but isn't this stretching it a little far?" he asked.

"Nonsense," answered Hermione swiftly. "When you think about it, I'm sure things you've experienced in your world I'd find just as unbelievable as you find in ours."

"So what exactly is Dumbledore's plan?" asked Sasuke. She had a point and after all this he supposed he could just go along with it. Still, time travel sounded completely ludicrous.

"Professor Dumbledore has given us five days for me to teach you as much as possible. You got _Wingardium Leviosa_ so quickly, that I'm sure you'll be able to learn a lot in that time," replied Hermione. "Here." She motioned Sasuke closer and he reluctantly obeyed. Somehow the chain seemed to become long enough for her to slip it around his neck to.

"Ready?"

"Just get on with it!" he retorted impatiently.

Hermione shrugged and began winding a knob on the time turner. She did this several times and abruptly, the room distorted and changed. The blurring of colour and sound was slightly nauseating without the Sharingan but after roughly twenty seconds it died down and stopped. The sun was now setting and Harry's black robe was missing from were Sasuke had tossed it on the bed.

Stunned, Sasuke didn't resist when Hermione grasped his wrist and began pulling him away. She led him out of the Hospital Wing and down a number of corridors. They were deserted because the students were at dinner apparently and luckily they saw no one. They reached a girls bathroom and without hesitating, Hermione led him aside. There was water on the floor but the place was deserted otherwise.

"We should be safe enough here," said Hermione. She quickly searched each cubicle to check they were alone and then turned back to Sasuke. "So, are you ready?"

Reluctantly he nodded. He didn't like this and he was impatient to return to his training but if he was stuck this way then Sasuke wasn't going to do anything to jeopardize his chances of returning home. It might be Harry's fault he was like this but ultimately, these people were the only ones who could return him to normal and if they wanted him to play the part of Harry Potter then he'd do it and well enough even they'd have trouble telling he wasn't Harry.

0-0-0-0-0-0

The Fifth Hokage Harry reflected, was like Mrs. Weasley at her worst. The blond woman Shikamaru, Ino and Kiba had brought him to, appeared to be in her early twenties but the large bosom coupled with the serious brown eyes gave her a much more mature air. He tried not to stare at the Fifth's chest which revealed more flesh than he'd ever seen on a woman before. Shikamaru had released the henge the moment they'd been allowed into the office, thoroughly startling the Hokage who looked to have been snoozing amongst her paperwork.

The Fifth's gaze was now firmly fixed on him, a frown drawing her elegant eyebrows together.

"Uchiha Sasuke?" she queried.

"Hai, Tsunade-sama," replied Shikamaru.

He and the other two had taken up their position in a line behind Harry. As lazy as ever, Shikamaru had shoved his hands into his pockets and was already looking bored. He'd given Harry something called a soldier pill before they'd come in to see the Hokage. As a result, his head had cleared and he'd been able to throw off his stuffy nose and actually talk properly. Kiba was looking around the office with apparent disinterest, his dog lying at his feet. Only Ino stood at attention, his eyes resolutely planted on the village leader.

"We picked him up near the border," he continued. "Claims he has memory loss."

"Memory loss?" Tsunade's eyes flickered to Harry and he knew she didn't believe him.

"That's what he said," repeated Shikamaru. "He also didn't fight us if that means anything to you Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade looked thoughtful for a moment. Harry shifted nervously, awaiting her decision. If she was the village leader he was betting only she could help him but he couldn't afford to tell anyway else. He cursed the precarious position Sasuke's past actions had put him in. If he'd switched with someone like Shikamaru he was sure this would have been a whole lot easier.

"Alright," said Tsunade. "Good job you three. Shikamaru, I want a detailed report on my desk first thing tomorrow. You're dismissed. Uchiha – you stay here."

The three ninja left quietly and then it was just Harry and the Hokage. She sighed and leaned back in her chair, folding her hands in her lap.

"Well I must admit this is a pleasant surprise," she said. "Naruto's been away training with Jiriya, tyring to get strong enough to bring you back and you've come back all on your own."

She shook her head, amused at the situation. "However, you haven't forgotten a thing, have you Sasuke?"

Tsunade's eyes were hard as they assessed Harry, making him feel distinctly uncomfortable. She was by no means Dumbledore but all the same, her brown eyes seemed to look straight though him. It was now or never: he was going to have to tell someone about the ridiculous predicament he'd found himself in.

"Well, you're either going to think I'm completely off my rocker or you might actually believe me," began Harry. "You see, the thing is I'm sure Sasuke still knows who he is if I do but I'm not really Sasuke. My - "

But that was as far as he got. Tsunade was on her feet in an instant; eyes wide in alarm and her chair crashing to the floor.

"_Orochimaru?_"

"Err…what?" asked Harry confused.

The door opened and two masked men stepped into the room.

"Hokage-sama? Is everything alright?" asked one of them. They'd obviously been drawn by the loud noise and the moment they saw Harry they stopped in surprise.

"Toad, Hawk; take Uchiha to the prison block and get Hatake Kakashi in my office A.S.A.P. Make sure he isn't late," ordered Tsunade.

Shocked, it took Harry a second to react when Toad and Hawk took hold of his arms. He was going to prison? What an earth for? They tried to walk away but Harry dug his heels in and struggled.

"Hey wait a second!" he protested. "Why are you throwing me in jail? I haven't done anything wrong!"

The Hokage's warm hued eyes studied him sternly. "You're making completely no sense Uchiha and if it is Orochimaru hiding in there then I'm taking no chances."

He didn't have a clue what she meant. Did she think Orochimaru had possessed him or something?

Harry tried to protest again but Toad and Hawk were bigger than him and their combined strength was easily enough to drag him backwards. The abrupt change in her demeanour had taken Harry completely by surprise. One moment he'd been reluctantly trying to come up with a way to make her believe his story and the next thing he knew she was throwing him in jail.

Toad and Hawk dragged him backwards through the corridors and down the stairs. Harry struggled and objected the whole way which drew more than a few shocked stares. Self conscious about all the looks, Harry stopped protesting loudly by the time they got outside the tower and demanded they at least let him walk forwards rather than be dragged backwards.

Toad and Hawk reluctantly complied and then they marched Harry up the street to a low, squat building. It was dirty looking and run down but the inside looked to be in a lot better condition then the outside. The room was plain with white walls and a tiled floor. A row of locked cupboards ran around the length of the room and left gaps for the front door and another door on the opposite wall.

Four more masked men were seated around the table when Toad and Hawk led Harry into the room. One of them stood up and took away Harry's bag of clothes and Sasuke's sword. He locked them in one of the cupboards and Harry then had to stand uncomfortably while another masked man patted him down for concealed weapons. He didn't find any so he turned and led Toad and Hawk to the opposite door. Harry was dragged with them and down the stairwell concealed behind the door.

At the bottom they emerged into a corridor lined with stone. It was eerily reminiscent of Snape's dungeons and Harry shivered a little in the cool air. He was led along the corridor past several locked cells to one about half way along. The masked man opened the door which was covered in strange looking patterns and then Harry was roughly shoved in by Toad and Hawk.

"Hey wait!" demanded Harry as the door was slammed shut and locked. "How long am I going to be down here? I didn't do anything wrong!"

Toad and Hawk had already disappeared from his line of sight already but the last masked man paused for a moment. "You're a traitor," he told Harry through the bars and then he too was gone, leaving Harry in the near pitch darkness.

He cursed savagely and kicked the door but it was solid and he just ended up hurting his toes. He leant against it and rubbed his foot fiercely for several moments before the pain dulled. Sighing, he tried to put a lid on his temper and then he began to feel out his new residence. There were no apparent weaknesses in the door and Harry wished he had his wand so that he could charm the lock open. The room seemed to roughly be three by three with a bench set against the back wall. There was a bucket in one corner presumably for his needs but besides that, there was nothing. The dim light from the fires in the corridor didn't give him nearly enough light to see by and when he sat down on the bench he realised his two wounds from the ninja stars had torn open and were bleeding sluggishly again. The one on his collarbone soon stopped but the wound on his leg was painful and hot when he touched it. He wasn't sure what that meant but he didn't think it boded well for him.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Once Sasuke actually got used to the concept that he'd gone back in time, it was easy enough to avoid detection and start getting seriously accustomed to the person that was Harry Potter and everything it entailed.

Hermione was a diligent teacher and Sasuke readily applied himself. He didn't like having to do it but it was a challenge in the end and he decided to consider it as a holiday from his 'real life.'

Hermione taught him a few more basic spells they'd learnt in their first and second year and then began focusing heavily on their third and especially forth year. Sasuke found the spells difficult in some cases but mostly easy enough so long as he copied _exactly _what Hermione did. She confessed she was a little stunned by his progress and natural talent but he brushed it off with a general comment about those kinds of things coming easily to him. It was true enough. Sasuke was a prodigy and had never had any trouble getting his head around concepts and retaining knowledge. He only had difficulty when training his body physically or attaining the necessary chakra control because those things always took time.

In order to eat, they snuck down into the kitchens at night and received food from little creatures Hermione said were called House Elves. They nearly ran into Ron's twin brothers the second night but luckily Sasuke heard them before they saw he and Hermione and they managed to hide.

After that Hermione decided it was imperative that Sasuke learn the faces and identities of as many people as possible. They spied on students in the school corridors and once, Hermione even took Sasuke to the Gryffindor tower while she knew their other selves weren't there. It was a risk but one they had to take so that Sasuke could learn everyone's faces.

The hardest thing Sasuke discovered however; was Quidditch. It was an extremely popular game played on broomsticks and apparently he was the Gryffindor team's best player. Hermione wasn't much good herself but she knew the basics and had been able to show him that much. Naturally, Sasuke was brilliant at it even if it did unnerve him to hurtle around the pitch a little at first. What he had trouble with however, was conceiving the rules of the game. Although he only had to worry about catching the small golden snitch, Sasuke still had to know the rules for the other players and without a demonstration, it was hard to get his head around the facts. He knew the basic idea but couldn't imagine what it looked like in reality.

On their last night Sasuke shouldered Harry's broom (which Hermione had managed to smuggle out of his dormitory) and walked with her back across the lawns to the castle. His face and ears stung a little from the cold night air and Hermione shivered in her long, dark cloak. The days were still warm but the nights were quickly becoming colder with the onset of winter.

It was quite late and they only had to worry about running into patrolling teachers as they climbed the castle steps and snuck into the front entrance hall. Sasuke shut the door behind Hermione once she stepped through but paused. He was fairly certain he could hear footsteps on the marble floor and a moment later Hermione stiffened. She too had heard the sound.

"Umbridge!" hissed Hermione when a distant figure appeared. She groaned to herself and looked frantically around. They were partially shrouded in darkness so the person wouldn't be able to see them yet but they would soon. The main doors squeaked too loudly when you opened them to think of retreating in that direction.

Spotting a near by door half hidden behind a tapestry, Sasuke grabbed Hermione and yanked her after him. He threw the door open and she quickly followed him inside and shut it hastily behind them. Hermione leaned against it with Sasuke close behind her as they listened to the clicking of Umbridge's heels on the marble floor.

The footsteps stopped for several moments and they held their breath and then they distinctly moved away again, this time up the marble staircase to the left of the main doors.

Hermione sagged against the door the moment she could no longer hear the footsteps and Sasuke stepped back. As soon as he moved away however, the hairs on the back of his neck prickled and he stiffened. He'd only given the room a cursory glance over when they'd entered but now he was sure they weren't alone like he'd first believed.

He turned slowly, unsure of what to expect. He wasn't prepared for the roiling mass of darkness floating in the centre of the room.

"Hermione," he called and she immediately turned upon hearing her name.

"What's that?" asked Sasuke. He tensed his muscles, prepared to attack or defend should the strange cloud try anything. Hermione however, only looked confused at the sight of it.

"I don't know what it is," she said with a small frown. "Hogwarts isn't unknown for having unusual things in it though. The castle is full of all sorts of strange creatures and artefacts. I wouldn't be too worried about it although you might want to be careful anyway."

Sasuke's unease only decreased slightly at her words. Something about the cloud made him wary of it.

"Come on Sasuke, let's just - "

But Hermione broke off when the cloud abruptly shuddered and shrank rapidly. The form it took was distorted at first but gradually firmed. Horror flooded Sasuke at the sight that appeared. His stomach clenched painfully and his heart sped up horribly. The blood was pounding so loudly is his ear drums he barely heard Hermione's frightened gasp.

The cloud had condensed into a broken figure lying sprawled upon the floorboards. His body was sopping wet and blood mingled with the water running in rivulets off his body. The Jounin jacket was torn to shreds and his silver hair fell gracefully across his features.

Sasuke fought the urge to be sick at the sight of his sensei's obviously dead corpse. He'd seen death before but for some reason this one affected Sasuke like an illness did. It was the scenario he'd envisaged when Zabuza, the Demon of the Mist, had trapped Kakashi in his water prison. He'd almost been certain Kakashi would die and he'd had nightmares about it for weeks.

With a crack, the body suddenly turned into another corpse. Sakura's lifeless green eyes stared at Sasuke from a head bent at a strange angle compared to the rest of her body. Her expression was terrified and though there were no visible wounds, the sight made him sicker than Kakashi's body had. His arm protectively went around his roiling stomach as he sank to his knees.

Another crack suddenly rent the air and Sasuke was now staring at a mangled Naruto. His ex team mate's body looked as it had went he'd driven Chidori through his chest and sent Naruto deep into the watery depths of the lake at the Valley of the End. Though Naruto had survived the encounter, Sasuke had suffered never ending nightmares after that whenever he dropped his guard enough and allowed the guilt to consume him.

Orochimaru didn't know the extent of his remorse and never would. Sasuke had gone to great lengths to conceal his true self from the Sannin and the rest of the world but he still knew himself and he couldn't forgive what he'd nearly done. It'd all been an act of madness, fuelled by the power of the Curse Seal but Sasuke didn't use that as an excuse. He'd tried to _kill_ Naruto.

He couldn't tolerate the sight of Naruto's corpse for another second so he pressed his head to the floor and desperately tried to starve off the fear.

He heard footsteps and another crack. Hermione said something and there was a loud bang. Sasuke flinched but didn't dare look up. He heard Hermione come back and it took a great amount of effort not to react when she placed a hand on his back.

"What was that thing?" Sasuke whispered to the floorboards.

"A Boggart. It must have been hiding in here. They take on the form of a person's greatest fear," she replied softly. "I didn't realise it was one but that's probably because it didn't know how to react when we came in. You were closer to it and it probably couldn't decide if you were Harry or Sasuke. It must have realised when I said your name…I'm sorry."

Hesitantly Sasuke raised his face. The Boggart was gone and Hermione was looking away from him, her face a mixture of shame and sadness. "Were they your family?" she asked.

"No," he replied. He straightened slowly, suddenly disgusted with his reaction. So what if he'd been scared? Hermione had beaten off the thing and he'd just cowered on the floor like a child. What would Itachi have thought if he'd seen a display like that? The thought of his brother infuriated him and he pressed his lips together firmly and dug his nails into his palms in an effort to curtail his rapidly rising temper.

"Were they important to you though?" pressed Hermione.

Sasuke didn't want to answer her but he surprised himself. "Once they were. Maybe they still are but at this point in time they don't mean anything more to me."

He stood up and left so quickly that Hermione didn't have a chance to question him. Sasuke refused to talk to her for the rest of the night and eventually she went to bed in the hammock she'd conjured to hang between the stalls. Sasuke fell into his own but for a long time he couldn't sleep and he moodily stared at the ceiling, lost in memories long gone and resenting his own weakness.

0-0-0-0-0-0

The passing of time was certain but how much had passed, Harry was completely unaware of. He supposed he'd been in the darkness for several days before someone came down to find him. By the time the door was swung open, Harry was fairly simmering with resentment and thoroughly sick of the long, tedious hours he'd spent in the gloom.

An unfamiliar ANBU (which Harry learnt the masked men were called) unlocked the door, set a lantern on the floor and stepped back to allow a man inside. Harry recognised him immediately as the silver haired ninja from the Team 7 photo.

Hatake Kakashi didn't look any older than the picture and was even wearing the same thing. The eyelid of his visible eye dropped, as if he were either tired or just incredibly bored. The spiky, silver hair stuck upright to one side and he had his hands firmly entrenched in his pockets. The door shut behind him leaving them both in the gloomy cell.

"Sasuke?" he asked. His voice was deep with a smooth baritone. If the face beneath the mask and forehead protector wasn't horribly scared or anything, then Harry imagined he probably made woman swoon at the sound of a voice like that.

Harry however, wasn't going to lie anymore. Sasuke used to know Hatake, Harry reminded himself, so he answered, "Sorry, my name's Harry."

Hatake's eyebrow arched but he took the reply fairly smoothly.

"Uhuh…you know, Tsunade said you were acting out of character but I wasn't expecting this," Hatake replied.

Harry had been cooped up too long not to be a little resentful though. "Well you'd be a little upset if you'd been locked up for days without an explanation."

If possible, Hatake's eyebrow climbed higher and Harry plunged on before he could reply.

"Look, you're not going to believe me and you're going to think I'm totally insane but I have to tell someone," he said. "I'm not Uchiha Sasuke. Sasuke's in my body back in England and I'm Potter Harry. I'm a…" Harry clenched his teeth and forced himself to go on. "I'm a wizard and I had an accident in potions class. I'm not Uchiha Sasuke!"

Harry had stopped looking at Hatake some time ago and was now waiting for the inevitable sound of laughter. When there wasn't any, Harry looked up at Hatake who was staring at him. The boredom had vanished and his single eye was wide in apparent shock.

"You don't believe me, do you?" asked Harry. Although he'd prepared himself for this, he still couldn't help the disappointment that flooded him.

"Well I do actually," replied Hatake, surprising Harry. "It's just I wasn't expecting something like this. It's plausible but I've never heard of something like this happening before and I didn't imagine it happening to Sasuke of all people."

Hatake looked at Harry thoughtfully and then sighed. "Come with me then Harry. I suppose I'm going to have to explain a few things to the Hokage."

Hatake turned and banged on the door. The ANBU came back and Hatake explained that he was taking Harry to see the Hokage. He still called him Sasuke though Harry noticed.

They went back upstairs and out into the street. The brightness of the sun stung Harry's eyes but it was a relief to be free. His leg throbbed painfully but he followed Hatake dutifully back up the street to the Hokage tower. It was very late in the day and there were few people about. Most didn't even look twice at Harry as he trailed after Hatake.

Luckily, the Fifth was still in her office, grumbling over a sheaf of papers she held in one hand and staring at another group strewn across her desk.

"Hatake, Uchiha," she acknowledged when they walked in. She set the papers to one side and folded her arms on her desk. "You've spoken to Uchiha then?" she asked. Fixing them with an expectant stare, she waited for Hatake to say something.

"Yes, Hokage-sama," replied Hatake. "Are you aware of the seal that was placed around our lands?"

Tsunade frowned. "Are you referring to that old wives tale about witch craft and what not?" she asked.

"I am," confirmed Hatake, inclining his head. "And it was never an old wives tale."

Hatake went on to explain the story of the 'Lost Ninja Lands' and the fact that Uchiha Sasuke no longer resided in his body but someone called Harry Potter did. The Hokage's eyebrows steadily climbed towards her hairline and by the end of it Harry too, was staring in disbelief. He'd never heard of anything like it before. True, he knew Hogwarts was subject to similar spells but the sheer size of the lands hidden was on such a grand scale that he wondered how it could have possibly been hidden at all. Then Hatake revealed something that neither Harry nor the Hokage apparently, had known.

"My clan was the driving force behind the seals used to cut off our lands and was also a major part of the negotiations with the wizarding community. That's why I'm the last one of my clan, as my father was before me. We've kept the clan going for many generations but for some time there has only ever been a single or two heirs. Most of the Hatake clan was assassinated by shinobi not wishing for the seal upon our lands," explained Hatake.

"So that's why you know so much and you're certain he's telling the truth," deduced Tsunade.

"Aa," confirmed Hatake. "Even if Orochimaru realised the tale is more than what it is, the chances of him using it to infiltrate Konoha if he'd already taken over Sasuke are slim to none. I do however; have a way to be certain."

"Well let's see it then," prompted Tsunade.

Hatake turned to Harry with such an unnerving look in his eye that he was sure he wasn't about to like what was coming.

"Hold still Harry," instructed Hatake. "This won't hurt but it will feel a little strange."

Reluctantly Harry complied while Kakashi formed a strange shape with his hands in front of him. With a completely straight face, Hatake looked back over his shoulder and asked, "Hokage-sama, please don't tell Yamanka-san I know this jutsu."

The Hokage might have rolled her eyes but it looked like she suppressed the urge and sighed instead. "Only you, Kakashi, would be mad enough to copy a jutsu like that."

"Well I'm assuming you don't want all that many people to know," he replied with a small smile although it was difficult to tell beneath the dark cloth stretched across his face. "So I guess it's a good thing I did."

The Hokage grunted and made some comment under her breath that sounded like 'the Sharingan was invented for cheaters and lazy perverts.'

Hatake turned back to Harry and said something so rapidly Harry didn't quite hear it. An invisible force slammed into him. Distantly he heard a dull thump but he was too caught up in the rush of images playing before his mind's eye. He caught a flash of the confines of the cupboard under the stairs, followed by Ron and Hermione's smiling faces around second year. There was one of the Quidditch grand final, Lupin's first class, a glimpse of Snape prowling through the corridors and suddenly, it stopped.

Gasping, Harry staggered sideways and tripped over his own feet. He hit the floorboards painfully and bit back a cry as he landed on his wounded leg. Agony washed over him and he thought he was going to be sick. Peering through blurry eyes he watched as Hatake stood up. His body had been lying on the ground Harry realised – an effect of the jutsu thing he guessed but he appeared to be perfectly fine. His visible skin looked a little white though as he looked over at Harry. "He wasn't lying," said Hatake. "His name's Potter Harry."

He walked over to him but Harry barely noticed. His vision was swimming and he was at a loss to explain the cause.

"Oi, Harry? Are you alright?" asked Hatake.

Harry clenched his teeth and shook his head. "I think I'm going to be sick," he muttered.

He heard footsteps and then the Hokage's legs appeared within his field of vision. She crouched down in front of him, peering thoughtfully at his face. "Yamanka-san's jutsu can sometimes be uncomfortable but not like this," she remarked.

She gently pulled back Harry's eyelid and then felt his forehead. "What is it?" asked Hatake leaning over her shoulder to look at Harry.

"Harry, have you got any wounds anywhere?" she asked.

"On my leg," replied Harry.

"Let me see," ordered Tsunade. Obediently Harry rolled up his pant leg and showed her the wound. He'd taken off the bandages but hadn't had anything to rewrap it with. The cut wasn't big but it was deep and the flesh around it was red and swollen.

Tsunade gingerly examined the area and with a sigh, released his leg. "You're wound is infected. That's why you're sick."

Harry blinked stupidly at her. "Oh," he replied after a moment and then he mentally cursed himself. He really was an idiot sometimes. How the hell had he survived long enough to reach his fifth year?

* * *

**Author's Note:** There you go, another chapter. I had a hard time deciding what Sasuke's greatest fear was and then I decided he was probably afraid of loosing his precious people again. Do you guys think I'm writing Sasuke alright or do I need to make him more anti-social? Sasuke's always been a practical person so it's hard to write him going along with things and yet still being true to his stoic demeanour.

Anyway, I'm off to update another fic now. I'm on a role so I might as well.


	5. The Mission in Lightning

**Chapter Five **

**A Mission in Lightning **

Tsunade healed Harry's wound with another 'jutsu.' It didn't hurt at all and was rather like the spells Madam Pomfrey used except Tsunade performed it using a set of 'seals' she made with her hands. Noting Harry's curious stare, she explained that there were twelve seals and various combinations of seals helped to focus her chakra (or magic) for particular jutsus (or spells). Once Harry got his head around the concept, it was suddenly easy to see how chakra and magic were one and the same.

Once she finished, she rocked back on her heels while Harry ran his hand over the smooth skin. There wasn't even a scar and Tsunade smiled with satisfaction when he commented on it.

"So, can you help me?" he asked, eventually getting back to the point.

The Hokage sighed and shared a look with Hatake. He shook his head in response. "No. It'll be up to your end to reverse the spell. You'll be stuck here until then. It could be a few days or it could be years, maybe never. We just don't know but there most likely isn't any way to help you," said Hatake.

Harry didn't like the thought of that but Hatake was right and there was no way Sasuke would be able to keep what had happened a secret. Ron and Hermione were bound to become suspicious eventually and then Dumbledore would find out. After that, hopefully it wouldn't take too long to reverse the spell.

"So what now?" he asked.

"Well you've done us a huge favour," replied Hatake. "Sasuke left Konoha nearly three years ago as I'm sure Shikamaru, Ino and Kiba told you."

"Missing-nin are a serious problem," explained Tsunade. "When you become a ninja you swear an oath to the village to protect it and serve the Hokage. Sasuke left the village in an attempt to seek power from Orochimaru, the Snake Sannin. He is only one of three Sannin, meaning he's a ninja of incredible influence and strength. Jiriya and myself are the other two. We were team mates when we were young but Orochimaru defected and left the village. He's not only highly dangerous but also exceedingly ambitions. He's quite capable of taking on Jiriya and I at the same time and has gone to great lengths to achieve immortality."

"Immortality?" asked Harry. It sounded alarmingly like Voldermort who had ambitions for the same thing.

"Yes, Orochimaru has gone to despicable ends to attain it. He created a jutsu which transfers his soul from his body to a new host. Orochimaru can then suppress the real body's owner and control that body as his own. It's an abdominal technique and he must transfer once every three years when the host body begins to reject him and die. As far as we know, Orochimaru planned to use Sasuke as his next and most powerful host," said Tsunade.

Staring at her grave features, it became apparent she wasn't lying.

"But if that's true," argued Harry, "then did Sasuke know about it?"

"One of Orochimaru's talents is finding out what people want and promising it to them," replied Hatake grimly. "Sasuke comes from a prestigious clan. When he was eight, his elder brother killed the entire clan. Fifty or so people in a single night. It was a massacre of untold proportions and Sasuke came home to find his brother, whom he idolized and looked up to, had been responsible for it. Itachi escaped and Sasuke vowed to avenge his family. Orochimaru played on this desire and offered Sasuke the strength to defeat his brother. Itachi, unfortunately, is extremely talented himself despite Sasuke's own talent which was the greatest for his age group at the time. Sasuke was humiliated and defeated a second time when he was twelve in a one off encounter they had. Perhaps if he hadn't met Itachi then he might have stayed but things were fragile at the time for him and he decided to take Orochimaru's offer and accept whatever came."

"Uzumaki Naruto (his team mate) and four other boys around Sasuke's age were despatched to retrieve him the moment we learned of Sasuke's defection," continued Tsunade who'd taken a seat behind her desk again. She folded her hands under her chin and continued the tragic history of Uchiha Sasuke's life thus far.

"Naruto eventually caught up to Sasuke and tried to capture him but failed. Despite Naruto's improvements from recent trainings, he still wasn't a match for Sasuke. He informed me that he'd told Sasuke about Orochimaru's purpose for him. Sasuke however, replied that he didn't care and would give Orochimaru whatever he wanted provided he was trained and given the chance to kill his brother."

"Getting Sasuke back has been our goal for a long time," said Hatake. He folded his arms and leant lazily against the wall. "It was reaching the point where it would soon be Konoha's top priority since the three year mark is approaching rapidly. Yet because you've brought Sasuke's body back here, we've been extremely lucky. Orochimaru will probably make an attempt to get Sasuke again in a week or so but so long as we keep you here and protect you, Orochimaru will ultimately fail and you'll have another three years before he'll try again."

Hatake stopped and silence filled the room. Harry was having difficultly absorbing what he'd learnt but things were now starting to make sense and it was easy to understand Sasuke. It was a sobering thought to realise the similarities he and Sasuke shared. They were both orphans and their parents had been murdered. Harry wasn't sure but he suspected if he remembered Lily and James like Sasuke remembered his parents then he might possibly be just as driven when it came to revenge. It was impossible to say what lengths he would go to.

He was sure of one thing though and that was that Sasuke had made a mistake. Harry didn't think he would have lived to see third year without Ron and Hermione's help. His friends meant a lot to him and they were loyal. Tossing aside Naruto and Sakura's friendship was a pretty stupid thing to do he thought. Harry would bet his broomstick the people that had stood beside him in that photo and trained with him would mind terribly if he died. Harry couldn't imagine what Hermione and Ron would think of him if Harry did something similar. It just wasn't fair to them.

His thoughts were interrupted by Tsunade who seemed to have reached a conclusion.

"No. We won't keep Sasuke's body in Konoha," she announced. "Orochimaru will be expecting that."

"Then where?" asked Hatake. "Taking him away from the village could be just as dangerous."

"True," replied Tsunade, "but that's a risk we'll have to take."

Hatake sighed and hunched his shoulders as if feeling some great weight upon them.

"So what do you want to do then?" he asked.

"The obvious thing Kakashi," she responded. "Take Harry out of the village on a mission. I've got the perfect B-ranked mission in Lightning Country. It'll take at least two months and by the time Orochimaru realises what's happened, it'll be too late."

Closing his visible eye, Hatake appeared to be giving the idea a great deal of thought. "Well you are the Hokage," he said eventually. "And if you think this'll work then I'll go with it. Harry though, only knows magic and won't be able to perform it. He'll practically be a civilian until we teach him a few basic methods to defend himself. I'm guessing however, that you're not letting us go alone?"

The Hokage smiled in reply and there was a definite edge to her features. "You know exactly who I'm thinking of Hatake. Don't play coy with me. Whoever goes with you and Harry will inevitably discover that something has happened to the real Sasuke. I can only think of two other people who can be trusted to know and deserve to know on top of that. They'll find out anyway. The question is; do you have any objection to the reformation of Team 7?"

"Of course not Hokage-sama," drawled Hatake in reply.

"Good," said Tsunade. "Well Sakura will be at the hospital and I imagine that if Naruto isn't stuffing his face at Ichiruka's, then he'll probably be down at the training grounds. I'll send someone to fetch them. Kakashi, you might want to gather up some supplies and find some for Harry. You'll be leaving tonight and make sure Harry gets a bath and a good meal at some stage before you go."

The Hokage glanced meaningfully at Harry and he fought down a blush. He probably smelt as bad as some of Professor's Sprout's more putrid plants. A bath sounded like an excellent idea.

With a put-out sigh, Hatake nodded respectfully and left.

"You know, you haven't asked me about any of this," said Harry in the wake of Hatake's departure. He was happy to go along with whatever they advised but he didn't feel particularly comfortable with the way they had talked and organised his life for the past half an hour. Harry was used to Professor Dumbledore and the fact that he often listened to Harry and took his opinion into consideration even if he usually didn't get what he wanted in the end.

"You're a stranger here," answered the Fifth absently. She was already looking at her paperwork again, her eyebrows drawn together in a small frown. Harry bristled a little at the distinct lack of eye contact but stubbornly squashed his temper before he could say anything he might regret.

"I know that. I just meant that if I had the brains to get out of Oto then I'm not completely useless," he said.

Harry received an irritated stare in reply but the Fifth let it go. "Hmm, we shall see."

0-0-0-0-0-0

"Bloody hell!" moaned Ron. "First Binn's stupid essay, then Trelawney's ridiculous predictions and to top it all off, Snape's being an even bigger git than usual. I mean fair go! Malfoy did it – not us."

"Well its Harry's fault," snapped Hermione crossly. "If he hadn't humiliated him the other day, Malfoy wouldn't have gone so far out of his way in class today."

Irritably tuning out Ron and Hermione's argument, Sasuke tried to concentrate on the essay he was writing for Professor Binns. He'd never written an essay before but Hermione had told him all he had to do was choose whether to support the question they'd been given and then provide arguments and evidence for or against. It was more difficult than he'd expected but he was coping well enough. He'd written about half of it already.

The three Gryffindors were camped around a low table on the floor of the house common room. They'd kicked a couple of second years off who'd been playing chess on it and taken it for themselves.

Today had been Sasuke's first day as Harry Potter. It'd gone well enough he supposed but there'd still been a few hiccups, especially owing to his sour mood. He'd started the morning early with some jogging for an hour outside but it'd left him tired and sore after that and Sasuke had spent most of the day refusing to be drawn into conversation and moodily thinking about the boggart from Saturday night. He'd drawn the conclusion that his greatest fear was loosing his precious people and it needled more than a bit that Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi still meant so much to him. He didn't know how they'd wormed their way so far into his heart and managed to remain there. He'd barely thought about them in the three years since he'd left Konoha and it was amazing to discover the side of him he thought he'd buried was still there and though not his dominant side, still extremely powerful.

He'd brooded about it all day and ignored Ron's attempts to interact with him. The other boy was feeling a bit frustrated as a result and was dealing with those feelings by complaining about their lousy day and provoking Hermione into arguing with him.

Professor Binn's had taught Sasuke's first class of the day and it had severally rattled him to see the ghost when he'd first walked in the door. Ron had tried to persuade him to play hang man with him during the class because apparently they usually played games in History of Magic but Sasuke had refused and stared out the window instead for the majority of the lesson.

Divination followed and it was bad but marginally better than the rest of his classes for the day. The Professor, a spindly woman who blinked at him through a pair of thick glasses, was one of the most annoying people he'd ever met. She had a timid nature and yet she pestered him just as determinedly as Sakura used to do. Her room had been unbearably hot and infused with so much incense it made Sasuke's head spin.

It was not a delight to discover who taught Potions after lunch although he should have realised. Snape looked as pleased to see him as Sasuke did. The arrogant, sneering Draco Malfoy was also less than happy to see him too and had caused a needless amount of trouble for Sasuke, Ron and Hermione throughout the lesson. The final straw came not long after Malfoy inflicted a nasty rash all over Sasuke's arm with a well placed spell. Sasuke was prepared for the next one and dodged it but Snape caught it in the back instead. He whirled; saw Sasuke still crouched from where he'd dodged away from his desk and promptly docked him twenty points and gave him detention on Friday night. Even though he hadn't had a wand in sight it hadn't given Snape pause when he'd dished out Sasuke's undeserved punishment.

The final class however, was the worst. Professor Dolorous Umbridge was a sugar coated piece of internally rotten fruit. She was pleasant enough to look at on the outside but bitter and cruel on the inside. Despite her outwards appearance, the moment Sasuke stepped into the classroom he saw past her sweet demeanour to the twisted heart within and knew immediately that she hated Harry Potter.

"Is something the matter Mr. Potter?" she asked him in a sugary tone of voice halfway through the class.

Sasuke had been staring at her intently for some time. He wouldn't have called it glaring but it could have hardly been comfortable after ten minutes of doing it and following her around the room with his eyes.

"No," he answered her. "Nothing's wrong."

"Then perhaps you might like to take notes like the rest of the class?" she suggested. Sasuke's quill was sitting on his desk beside his open book which only had three lines in it.

"What's the point," he retorted. "You're reading line for line from the book. I don't need to copy down something I already have."

The professor's eyes flashed but her smile didn't slip for a moment. She leaned closer, her bulging eyes trying to bore into Sasuke's own. He didn't allow his expression to change nor did he blink: he knew it was all that much more frustrating for Umbridge not to get a reaction.

"Don't tell me you'd like another week of detention Mr Potter? Wasn't the last one long enough for you?" she questioned quietly.

The entire classes' eyes were on Umbridge and Sasuke, wondering what was going to happen next. He could tell Ron was straining not to open his mouth and Hermione was shaking her head anxiously at him.

Umbridge's eyes flickered downwards in the vicinity of his left hand. It wasn't much of a gesture but to a ninja like Sasuke, the glance spoke volumes.

"No," Sasuke replied.

He wasn't stupid. Umbridge hated Harry and if her personality was as false as her expression then Sasuke doubted her detentions were all that pleasant. He already had one from Snape and he knew when it was time to count his losses and beat a retreat. It rankled a little to give in so easily but there would be other opportunities.

"Well then Mr Potter," continued Umbridge in her sickeningly sugary voice. "Why don't you pick up your quill then and do try to catch up. We can't have you falling behind, can we?"

Umbridge smiled once more, sure of her victory and then she moved away. As soon as Sasuke was certain she wasn't looking he'd glanced down at his hand. A thin, spidery scar ran across the back. He'd just been able to make out the words the scar formed.

_I must not tell lies. _

He asked Ron about it after class and got the story about the blood quill. He didn't know what one looked like but from Ron's description he could guess. Orochimaru had a taste for using similar methods to drive home a point but Sasuke wasn't nearly as disgusted as Ron was about it. Like Harry, he didn't believe in giving someone the satisfaction they wanted if they were trying to take away his pride to get it. Harry Potter didn't sound like anyone remarkably special to Sasuke but he gave him points for his resourcefulness and definitely for his guts.

He blinked, realizing he'd zoned out for some time. The half done essay was still sitting in front of him and with a sigh, he pushed it to one side. He'd lost his focus although he could easily blame that on his bickering housemates across the table. Ron and Hermione's argument was so loud it'd now drawn the attention of most of the common room. Angelina Bell, the Quidditch team caption, was sitting in one corner scowling ferociously at them. It looked like she was drawing up plays although it was hard to tell from where Sasuke sat.

"Ron, ever heard of the term studying?" piped up Fred Weasley sarcastically from across the room.

Ron stopped long enough to look at his older brother and snort in disbelief. "Yeah, I have Fred but that's rich coming from you since you're the one usually causing the ruckus."

"Well we ain't now!" shot back George heatedly. Glancing around the room, Sasuke realised that most of the seventh years were surrounded by books and papers.

"Good then," snapped Hermione. She looked more than a little peeved from the ongoing argument and just as quickly as Ron had, she was taking it out on Fred and George. Sasuke didn't blame her. He hadn't actually spoken to the twins yet but it was his own personal policy to ignore annoyances until he couldn't take it and then give them a sound reminder of their place. In Naruto's case that had generally been a well earned punch no less than once a day. "At least it'll keep you two from selling any more of those ridiculous sweets and prank items. Filch has been on my case ever since we got back to school about you two," continued Hermione waspishly.

"What's your problem Hermione?" growled back George.

Sensing an opportunity, Sasuke jumped in without hesitation. As much as the twins might deserve the argument they were getting, Ron and Hermione's voices were beginning to get tedious. They'd already been at it for half an hour and they had, after all, instigated it in the first place. He knew _exactly _how to get them to shut up and hopefully they'd stop making idiots of themselves.

"Leave them be George," he cut in calmly. "It's just a boyfriend and girlfriend spat. They'll sort it out on their own."

He deliberately kept his head lowered but the reaction was instantaneous. Ron and Hermione ground to a halt and a feeling of shock descended upon the common room for a moment before it broke into amused laughter.

"Well said Harry," remarked Lee Jordan from the twins' table.

Ron flushed at the comment and his ears took on a distinct pink tinge. "Bloody sod," he grumbled under his breath. "That wasn't very nice."

"You had it coming," retorted Sasuke whose sharp hearing had heard every word. Ron glared in return and with an irritated sigh, Sasuke snapped his book shut and collected his things.

"Where are you going?" demanded Ron.

"Bed," replied Sasuke.

He thrust the last quill into his bag, stood up and hurried to the dormitory stair well. He could feel Ron's simmering gaze on his back but that didn't worry him. He clenched his fists and angrily climbed the stairs, haunted by the crushed look in Hermione's eyes and the reminder of Sakura's tears from that night so long ago. He was such an arsehole sometimes.

0-0-0-0-0-0

The setting sun cast the world in a perpetual shade of golden orange as Harry waited at the same gate he'd entered the village through earlier in the day. He'd been fed, watered, showered and even allowed a few hours sleep before Hatake had woken him and brought him to the gate. He'd told him to wait there and then Hatake disappeared to fetch something.

The gates themselves were a huge work of engineering Harry noticed while he waited. He'd observed the two guards shut the massive wide doors in a matter of seconds and swing them open just as quickly. Konoha was surrounded by a fortified, protective wall although Harry couldn't tell if it was made of stone or steel since it was covered in steel plates. Other than the wall though, Harry couldn't perceive much of anything that would deter any would be attackers. He'd said as much to Tsunade but the Fifth assured him they had their ways. An evacuation procedure ensured civilian casualties hopefully didn't happen and numerous chakra seals and barriers kept rogue shinobi out. It sounded similar to Hogwarts' defences but Harry knew all too well even that was penetrable. His godfather, Sirius Black, had proven that.

The two shinobi on guard were watching him like hawks but Harry barely noticed. His mind was floating in a pleasant, fuzzy haze after all that sleep and so much good food. He was sleepily sprawled against the travel bag Hatake had provided, soaking up the last of the day's sunlight. He was sucking on a piece of grass, something he'd seen Charlie Weasley do once, while one hand idly twirled the tassels on the end of his scarf.

He'd been given four new sets of clothes and was currently wearing one which consisted of a black, long sleeved shirt like the one Hatake wore under his green flak jacket. He supposed it was standard issue for shinobi since he'd seen many in the village wearing them under their green jackets. He was also wearing a pair of black pants and much to his consternation, the same pair of sandals he'd found in Oto. Those were also common but Harry really didn't see the point of them.

The scarf was an extra addition but Harry liked it. It was pale blue and white with dark blue tassels on the end. It reminded Harry of Professor Lupin who owned one in similar colours. Hatake had hunted up the scarf once Harry had woken up and it became obvious the soldier pill had worn off when he'd coughed rather loudly a couple of times. Hatake didn't have any more soldier pills so he'd given Harry the scarf instead.

His sleepy musings were interrupted by the distant sound of voices. Glancing up the road, Harry jolted when he realised who was coming towards him. A black and orange tracksuit, blond hair, six distinctive scars and bright blue eyes informed Harry he was looking at a fifteen year old Uzumaki Naruto. Beside him, a fifteen year old Haruno Sakura walked with much shorter pink hair but the same vivid green eyes. In contrast with the beaming smile she'd worn in the Team 7 photograph, this Sakura was scowling at Naruto who was talking at a rapid pace to her, arms waving wildly.

The two shinobi were carrying packs and Harry could see Hatake further back behind them but coming up fast. He reached Naruto and Sakura just as they noticed Harry who'd gotten to his feet by that stage. Thankfully warned about their reactions by the Fifth, Harry was prepared for Sakura's pale face and trembling lower lip but Naruto still caught him a little by surprise.

The blond boy screeched to a halt, his eyes widening in surprise. Naruto and Sakura knew about Harry's condition because the Fifth had said she'd debrief them but she'd also said Naruto's reaction would be anyone's guess. It didn't escape Harry's notice that Hatake had a firm grip on Naruto's shoulder.

They reached Harry who'd tossed aside the piece of grass by then and slung his bag over one shoulder. Not feeling the least bit confident, Harry never the less took the Fifth's advice and introduced himself. "Hi, I'm Harry. You're Naruto and Sakura right?"

"Haruno Sakura," replied Sakura, cautiously taking his offered hand. Harry shook it firmly, trying to appear in control but feeling like the smallest misplaced comment would blow the whole thing up in his face. Along with a description of Naruto and Sakura's reactions, he was also told something of their abilities and personalities and he didn't like the thought of Sakura punching him to kingdom-come if he accidentally said something wrong.

He released Sakura's hand and looked to Naruto but the blond boy couldn't seem to do anything. He was staring at Harry, mesmerized by his appearance. Eventually Harry dropped his hand. It was clear Naruto was too thrown off to greet him properly but he shrugged it aside.

"Well," said Hatake brightly, breaking the awkward silence that had fallen. "Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke: let's go." And so saying, Hatake gave Naruto's shoulder one last squeeze, released him and turned and led the way out of Konoha's gates.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Hermione didn't talk to him for the next two days and Ron kept up a rather consistent silence as well. Not that Sasuke minded though. It gave him the opportunity to be alone and in class it was a pleasant chance to sit by himself and write notes without Ron jabbing him in the ribs every two minutes to ask him something.

The rest of the Gryffindor year however, found their argument extremely strange and Neville Longbottom even asked Sasuke one night during dinner if he was feeling alright. After a blank stare for a few moments, Neville elaborated and explained that in the past when Harry had fought with Ron or Hermione, he'd usually been sullen for days and extremely moody.

Sasuke shrugged in reply. "Sometimes it's not worth the effort," he told Neville. "Sulking isn't going to change what was said."

On Wednesday night however, Ron and Hermione approached him in the common room while he was trying to work out what exactly Professor McGonagall's latest class lecture had meant. Only in his own mind did he admit how much he missed Hermione's helpful support. He would have been able to start his homework half an hour ago if Hermione was around to explain it.

"Harry?" questioned Hermione tentatively.

"What?" replied Sasuke blankly. He looked up at the two of them to see Hermione looking a little awkward and Ron scowling to one side. Apparently he'd been talked into coming over but he'd rather be anywhere else then within ten feet of Sasuke.

"We need to talk," said Hermione firmly, "_now_."

Sasuke debated ignoring them but decided against it. McGonagall's homework _was _going to be hard to complete at this rate. It'd be easier just to get Hermione to help him out and then he'd have some spare time to do other things, like train for instance. His muscles were dully aching at the moment from the last few days of his new regime to get Harry's body up to par with an extremely fit civilian. Only that morning he'd tried a couple of back flips and had been rewarded with three sprained fingers on his left hand.

"Fine," he answered.

He left his books where they were, a clear signal to make it quick as he followed Ron and Hermione up the stairs to his room. Hermione opened the door and ushered them inside and quickly pulled it closed behind herself. Sasuke didn't bother to light the lamps as he went and sat in the alcove where the window was. Still scowling, Ron dropped onto Seamus' bed and Hermione leant against the door she'd just close, one hand nervously twirling a lock of her bushy hair.

When Hermione didn't make any move to speak however and Ron just seemed to be ignoring them, Sasuke spoke up. "What is it Hermione? If you've come looking for an apology, you won't find it here."

"No, it's not that Sasuke," replied Hermione.

"Of course it isn't," agreed Ron, speaking for the first time. "Because he's a soddin' berk and getting him to say sorry is like asking Malfoy to be pals: it just ain't gonna happen."

Ron's sarcastic comment earned him an irritated glare from Sasuke and a roll of the eyes from Hermione.

"Ronald, shut up!" Hermione growled at him. "And you," she continued, rounding on Sasuke. "While I know we won't get one, an apology would be nice. That however, is beside the point. We have a slight problem."

"Slight?" asked Sasuke suspiciously.

"Okay, well maybe it's a largish one," Hermione corrected herself. "You see, it's a Hogsmeade weekend this weekend and well, with all that's happened I'm sure you can understand if Ron and I forgot to mention it."

"Mention what?" demanded Sasuke. In the pale moonlight it was easy to pick out Hermione's features and read the evident nervousness. With a sinking feeling, Sasuke knew he wasn't going to like what she was about to say and Hermione knew it.

"A couple of weeks ago we asked you to consider teaching us Defence Against the Dark Arts," answered Hermione.

Sasuke snorted. "Well that's ridiculous. You're the one teaching me in case you'd forgotten."

"I know!" answered Hermione. "But Harry was always better than me and well, you've seen Umbridge and you've taken her classes. You know what she's like."

"If she doesn't talk us to death first then she'll make our hands drop off from writing lines," added Ron crossly.

"So you were going to teach yourselves then?" realised Sasuke. "And you wanted Harry to be the teacher?"

"Yeah," confirmed Ron. "Harry's had loads more experience than us and he's actually really good."

"You have to understand Sasuke, with You-Know-Who back we have to be prepared," said Hermione softly.

Sasuke looked between the pair of them and sighed irritably. "I see. So your problem now is that Harry isn't here and you invited a whole bunch of other people to learn from him this weekend. You're going to Hogsmeade to meet them so Umbridge won't catch you."

"How did you know?" asked Ron, surprised.

Sasuke glared pointedly at Ron. "I'm not dense moron. It's obvious that's what you're planning."

"Prick," glowered Ron at the insult. Sasuke sneered back, not at all offended.

"Oh stop it!" snapped Hermione in exasperation. "We're not going to fight. We're going to sort this out and decide what to do about it. I already told those people we'd be there and we can't back out."

Glaring crossly between them, her stare dared either to argue with her. Ron looked away, mumbling crossly to himself but Sasuke stared back passively, knowing it was impossible for Hermione to read his expression. "So what do you propose?" he asked eventually.

Having been put on the spot, Hermione suddenly looked rather flustered. "Well I was thinking we just go ahead with it. It's just an initial meeting to see who's interested so you won't be expected to do any spells."

"And what if I refuse?" asked Sasuke coolly. He had no intention of getting himself tangled up in anything further and potentially having to teach others something he himself didn't know, was going to be more than a lot of work in future.

"You can't refuse," retorted Ron immediately. "We're not asking you if you want to do this or not. That's not an option. What we're asking is not to be a jerk about it and just suck it up."

"You're asking the impossible," spat Sasuke, barely realising his temper was rapidly rising.

"What? Not to be a jerk?" asked Ron sarcastically.

"No," replied Sasuke, teeth clenched as he tried to curtail the urge to knock Ron's jaw askew. "If Harry's supposed to be better at this than you two then you can't teach me the skills necessary to be a teacher."

"Yeah right!" Ron sneered back. "You're just giving in before you've even tried. Get off your high horse you arrogant prig!"

"Shut up Naruto!"

_BANG! _

A pillow lying haphazardly on the floor exploded in a burst of feathers. In the ensuring silence, Sasuke stared at Ron who stared right back while the feathers gently began to fall and settle, many landing in their hair and on their shoulders.

"Shit," cursed Sasuke, breaking the stare and moving across the room as fast as he could manage.

"Sasuke, wait!" asked Hermione. She caught hold of his robes as he moved to open the door but Sasuke shook her off.

"Don't!" he warned. "I'll talk to you tomorrow."

And so saying, Sasuke pulled the door open and slammed it shut. He barrelled down the stairs, not seeing the steps before him. The feathers from the pillow he'd magically burst fell behind him but he hardly noticed as he tried to still his pounding heart and ignore the blood roaring in his ears.

"Dobe, get the hell out of my head already," he snarled quietly to himself.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Hey all, apologies for taking awhile but I got side tracked watching Saiyuki and kind of lost the drive for a bit. Anyway, hope you enjoyed. I actually went off and researched British slang for this just so I could set up a good argument between Sasuke and Ron. Even though I'm Australian, turns out I use half those terms anyway.

For those of you that thought there wasn't enough action when Harry met Naruto and Sakura, don't worry. Who said things were going to be easy from here on out? I've got plans, big ones! Muw ha ha ha! It's only just beginning.

And on that note, ja ne!


	6. Playing the Part

**Chapter Six: **

**Playing the Part**

Unwilling to play the part of Harry Potter and yet unable to escape, Sasuke gave in rather grudgingly by Friday and agreed to accompany Ron and Hermione to Hogsmeade. It was only because he'd visited Snape on Thursday though and been told that it would be several months before the potion was ready Sasuke told himself. Never mind that he didn't give a damn about Harry 'bloody' Potter.

Hogsmeade went spectacularly badly Sasuke had decided by Saturday night. It was the start of a new week that spiralled downwards from there.

During the meeting (of which at least 25 students showed up contrary to Hermione's 'few') Sasuke didn't speak unless spoken too and even then, he usually ignored whatever question it may have been. It was also the first time however, that the reality of the politics surrounding Harry Potter came to light.

A particularly obstinate Hufflepuff didn't seem to hero worship Harry quite as much as the other students and wasn't shy about voicing his irritating opinions at every turn.

"All Dumbledore told us last year," said Zacharias Smith dismissively, "was that Cedric Diggory got killed by You-Know-Who and that you brought Diggory's body back to Hogwarts. He didn't give us details, he didn't tell us exactly how Diggory got murdered, I think we'd all like to know -'

"What it looks like?" snarled Sasuke.

The majority of the group who'd been sitting on the edge of their seats as they'd listened blinked in surprise. Sasuke had made it a point to remain silent since the meeting had begun and had coldly brushed off their attempts to talk to him. Smith's tone of voice though and the way he'd so flippantly discussed murder as if he were talking about the weather had set Sasuke's blood boiling with a rage he hadn't felt since he'd fought Naruto in the Valley of the End.

'Killed' was a word he could cope with but 'murder' was something that threatened to shatter his cool façade every time he heard it. His parents had been murdered and the moment he heard that word he was back there; facing his brother in their parents' bedroom as their blood pooled on the floor beneath their feet.

"If you like," threatened Sasuke, "I can just wipe you out of existence right here. Then maybe you'll have some idea but until you understand don't talk about it so casually. We're here to talk about preventing it so either start paying attention or else clear off."

An uncomfortable silence followed before Hermione awkwardly cleared her throat and moved the conversation on. By the time they'd finished, all the students had agreed to sign a contract and join the club. A location and time would have to be worked out but at least it was over Sasuke had thought moodily.

Ron had been in high spirits despite Sasuke's frosty demeanour for the remainder of the weekend. On Monday though, that mood was brought just as low as Sasuke's. Decree Number 24 (detailing the banning of all clubs unless permission was sought from Umbridge) appeared in the Gryffindor Common Room before breakfast. Sasuke knew Umbridge had only recently attained the self-appointed position of Hogwarts High Inquisitor and if she was already on Decree Number 24 then the woman had moved fast.

Ron swore rather violently once he finished reading the edict. "I can't believe it! How the hell did she know? Someone must have snitched – I bet it was Smith or probably that Michael Corner. He had a really shifty look about him."

"Relax Ron," drawled Sasuke. He was almost a hundred percent certain Umbridge didn't know. It was more likely she'd heard a rumour.

"How can I relax Harry?" seethed Ron. "That woman's got it in for us."

"She doesn't know," answered Sasuke calmly.

"Oh and you do?" answered Ron disbelievingly.

Sasuke sighed irritably. "There wasn't anyone in the pub listening in on us."

Ron snorted doubtfully.

Sasuke glared in return. "Trust me Ron, I'd know if they were and Hermione's jinx will take care of the problem if someone does rat on us."

Ron blinked at Sasuke, confused by his reply. "What?"

"The paper we signed," answered Sasuke impatiently. "You think Hermione didn't have an ulterior motive when she suggested we write our names on it? It's most likely spelled to identify the culprit in some way."

Ron blinked foolishly at Sasuke for a moment and then turned away. "Oh," he mumbled. "You're probably right about that."

Sasuke sighed. "Come on. Breakfast will be starting soon."

0-0-0-0-0-0

The newly reformed Team 7 camped that evening in a thicket of trees, safely hidden from prying eyes and protected from the chilling breeze blowing from the south. Hatake gave quick instructions in a tone that brooked no argument, thus Naruto and Sakura quickly disappeared into the surrounding forest to gather firewood and catch something for a meal. This left Harry standing awkwardly with nothing to do as Hatake laid down their packs and began clearing a space for a fire.

"Normally we wouldn't light a fire," explained Hatake as he worked, "but we're still deep in Fire Country so the chances of enemy shinobi being about is minimal. It'll be another four days before we reached the border of Fire Country and after that we'll have to go without a hot meal and stick to rations."

"Right," acknowledged Harry. "Er, do you want some help with anything?" he asked lamely.

"Take the bed rolls off the packs and roll them out if you like," instructed Hatake.

Harry nodded and obediently took the bedrolls off each pack and laid them on the ground. There wasn't much grass about so Harry knew they'd all be relatively safe from waking up covered in dew in the morning. One cold was bad enough Harry thought grimly and he didn't really need another one.

By the time he finished Hatake had cleared a large space for a fire and Sakura had come back. She dumped her armload of wood (an amount that looked far too heavy for her petite frame) and then began organizing it into a neat pile to start a fire. Hatake moved away and began clearing any remaining debris from the clearing, leaving Harry once again with nothing to do.

Thankfully they didn't take long and there was soon a roaring fire which Hatake and Sakura seated themselves beside. After a moment's hesitation, Harry sat down too. As if sensing Harry's discomfort, Hatake said, "Naruto will be awhile yet so we might as well go over a few things."

Harry nodded and obediently focused his attention on Hatake. Out of the corner of his eye he also noticed Sakura on the other side of the fire do the same thing, her wide green eyes curious.

"First off, to the casual observer you will appear as nothing more or less than a Konoha shinobi," explained Hatake. Reaching into his pocket, Hatake withdrew something and passed it to him. Harry took it, recognising it as a gleaming, brand new Konoha headband.

"Second," continued Hatake, "it is impossible to say whether there will or won't be encounters with other shinobi who recognise you. It's impossible to determine how long you will remain this way but if it's for quite awhile, I can guarantee that there will be a rather violent encounter with Orochimaru in the future. You will need to know enough about Sasuke and his mannerisms to actually fool Orochimaru into thinking you are him which brings me to me third point: there is no room on this mission or any for useless baggage. We'll protect you as much as we can but you're going to have to learn something of our ways in order to protect yourself. It may not be too your liking but that's tough. In this world, people try to kill you and if you don't start thinking it's either 'them' or 'us'; you'll die."

Hatake fell silent for a moment, his single eye growing distant as he looked at the flames.

"Kakashi-sensei?" prodded Sakura softly. Hatake shook himself slightly at the sound of her voice.

"So simply put, we'll teach you as much as we can about what it means to be a shinobi and carry the name of Uchiha Sasuke. Think you can handle that?" asked Hatake.

"I'll manage," promised Harry quickly. "Where I come from its not dangerous like here but I've been in a life or death situation once or twice."

"Only once or twice?" asked Hatake, his eyebrow rising.

Harry bristled slightly at the mocking tone but said nothing. It was true: his world wasn't anything like here but nobody could deny a man most of the entire populace was afraid to speak his name wasn't incredibly dangerous. To have lived through four encounters with Voldermort should have been more than enough to convince Hatake he was a bit more resilient then most civilians but of course, Hatake couldn't know that.

Naruto chose that moment to return, carrying two dead rabbits and some sort of fowl he'd caught. He glanced once at Harry and when he saw he was being watched, he didn't look back again.

Harry wasn't sure what to do about Naruto. The blond haired shinobi still hadn't spoken to him yet and he'd travelled just ahead of the rest of them throughout the day. The longer the silence went on, the more apprehensive Harry became. He was fairly certain that when Naruto did speak to him, the resulting conversation was going to be ugly.

"Don't worry, Naruto will come around," said Sakura, interrupting his thoughts. Harry started a little and guiltily looked at her. Sakura was stirring a broth which the two rabbits had gone into. Speared with two sticks, the plucked fowl roasted beside it. Hatake and Naruto had departed a moment ago to check the perimeter.

"I can't help it," confessed Harry. "When he looks at me it's like he can't decide whether to hug me or pound my face into the dirt."

Sakura smiled a little. "That's what he wants to do to the real Sasuke. He can't do that though because you're not really him."

"I could try to be," suggested Harry and then immediately felt stupid. There was no way in a million years he could act the same way as the boy whose life he'd stolen. It also wouldn't be fair on Naruto when the real Sasuke was restored to his body. "Forget it," he told Sakura. "That was a dumb idea."

"It was," agreed Sakura, enough tartness in her tone to indicate she was slightly offended too.

Feeling embarrassed, Harry looked lamely at his feet instead.

"The thing about Naruto," sighed Sakura, "is there hasn't been a person he hasn't met that he couldn't understand. Naruto has a way of bringing out the best in people."

"But Sasuke?" asked Harry looking back up. Sakura's shoulders slumped and her bright gaze faded a little.

"He tried but Sasuke told him he could never understand and he was right," she said. "Naruto's an orphan and Sasuke was his first friend. I've thought about it a lot and I think until Naruto lost Sasuke, he didn't understand what losing precious people and revenge was all about. I think deep down he hates Orochimaru just as much as Sasuke hates his brother. While Itachi still breaths, Sasuke denies himself any happiness. For him, there won't be any until his brother is dead and he can stand before his parents' graves and tell them he's avenged them."

A twig snapped underfoot. Sakura and Harry looked up as Naruto and Kakashi returned. Seeing Naruto, Sakura looked away guiltily. Naruto didn't appear to notice though as he and Hatake sat down on the opposite side of the fire.

They ate dinner in silence mostly. Feeling more uncomfortable than ever, Harry wasn't inclined to open his mouth. He hoped whatever Ron and Hermione were going through with Sasuke was easier than what he was experiencing with Team 7. The thought of his two best friends caused a pang of home-sickness to run through him. He missed them and he missed Hogwarts, Quidditch and everything else that went with it. He'd even be happy to see Malfoy's sneering face. He especially missed Sirius though and wished he had the comfort of his godfather's wisdom. Sirius wasn't the best role model in the world but he'd experienced many things and would have known just what to say to take Harry's mind off the situation.

He sighed to himself and slouched dejectedly on his log. Feeling sorry for himself wasn't going to help him but Harry didn't feel particularly inclined to care at the moment. Where were the Weasley twins and one of their ridiculous pranks when he needed them?

"Finished moping?"

Harry jumped violently when Hatake spoke right behind him and clapped a hand on his shoulder. His empty bowl tumbled out of his hands and landed in the dirt with a soft thump.

"I wasn't moping," snapped Harry defensively, more than a little annoyed.

Hatake's eye crinkled slightly in the corner, indicating he was probably laughing at Harry beneath his black face mask. Harry scowled in reply.

"Come on Harry, we've got first watch," said Hatake.

"First watch?" blinked Harry.

Hatake nodded and released Harry's shoulder. He walked towards the edge of the clearing, apparently expecting Harry to follow. Reluctantly Harry hurried after him.

First watch sounded like guard duty to Harry and he wasn't so sure he wanted to be awake for another few hours. His cough was better but still nagging at him and while they hadn't travelled quickly enough for it to be strenuous, it'd still been fast enough to tire Harry a little by the end of the day. Hatake however, was the boss and there wouldn't be any arguing with him.

When the silver haired shinobi reached the base of a large tree, he surprised Harry by casually _walking _up the trunk of the tree. Harry didn't have a clue how he'd done it and tried not to gawp. He had other things to think about, like how _he_ was going to get up there. The trunk of the tree was massive but the first branch on the tree was just low enough for Harry to jump and catch it. He clumsily managed to pull himself up and tried to ignore the fact that Hatake was sitting about halfway up and watching as Harry cautiously climbed up to meet him. His progress was slow and Harry was careful not to slip. A fall was something he couldn't save himself from like he was sure Hatake would be able to. He'd have to ask Hatake how to climb trees like that for next time.

Harry finally made it to the same branch as Hatake and settled on a second branch on the other side of the trunk in relief. He looked at Hatake who seemed to smile again under his mask which Harry once again, scowled at.

"Er, Hatake? How long does first watch last?" asked Harry once he felt settled enough.

"Till midnight," answered Hatake, idly twirling a small knife Kiba had told him was called a kunai. "Usually only one of us would take it but there are a few things I wanted to talk to you about and I thought there was no time like the present."

"Oh, okay," replied Harry. "So...?"

"So continuing on from earlier then," said Hatake. "We need to educate you a little bit concerning Sasuke. You already know his personal history and what happened with his clan. What you need to know more about is how he usually interacts with people. We'll also need to teach you some necessary defence skills but we'll worry about that tomorrow."

"Alright," agreed Harry. "What do you want me to do?"

"Well don't call me Hatake for one," he replied. "Sasuke comes from a prestigious clan and while I wouldn't call him arrogant, he certainly used to act it. Sasuke usually calls people by their first name or title – like Hokage – sans the respective attachment on the end. Occasionally he called me Kakashi-sensei like Naruto and Sakura but generally speaking he called me Kakashi."

"Right, I think I can manage Kakashi," said Harry.

"Good," replied Kakashi. "Going on what I remember of him when he was twelve, Sasuke didn't usually speak unless he thought it was necessary. He was fond of keeping to himself and he didn't like interference from others. I could go on but basically Sasuke was cold (even for a twelve year old) and held himself somewhat aloof from his fellow classmates. Now though, is where it'll get interesting and we'll look at what really went on under the surface. The important thing to know about Sasuke is that he was and always has been an individual of two personalities. On top the world sees the determined and calculated individual he wanted the world to see but beneath that and highly suppressed, is the shinobi he would have been if things had gone differently."

Reluctantly Harry resigned himself to what he was sure, was going to be a very long lecture.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Umbridge's new decree turned most of Hogwart's students' personal dislike of Umbridge to a deeper and shared hatred. If the Weasley twins were to be believed at breakfast, there was never a more hated and despised teacher at Hogwarts. Snape came close, they allowed but even he was just a spiteful git. Umbridge was the devil herself.

The worried members of the defensive club had to be hastily motioned away from the Gryffindor table in order to avoid suspicion. Ginny wisely went to sit at the Ravenclaw table in order to restore calm, much to Ron's disgust. ("Can't believe that pig's her boyfriend and she didn't even tell me!")

Perhaps the biggest impact of the new decree however, didn't hit the Gryffindors until Angelina caught Sasuke and Ron on their way to History of Magic for their first class of the day. The realisation that they would need to seek Umbridge's permission to reform the Quidditch team hadn't even occurred to Sasuke, much to his inner irritation at his lack of deduction skills. Even if Sasuke wasn't feeling particularly pleased about his current predicament, in the privacy of his own mind even he had to admit he'd been looking forward to his first Quidditch match with a sense of nervous trepidation. What he was quickly learning that he missed the most about his own world was the lack of a physical challenge. Quidditch by far was the closest he'd ever get and he'd been looking forward to testing himself.

Quidditch however, was the least of their problems. In History of Magic, Sasuke dutifully took notes, his mind on other things as he wrote. It was no wonder he happened to see a snowy white owl suddenly swoop downwards from the sky and land on the window ledge right outside the class room. The owl looked around the classroom through the window and when she noticed him she hooted softly.

Without a doubt, this had to be Hedwig whom Hermione had told him about during their week long induction. Noting several other students had also noticed her and doubting Professor Binns would even blink if a herd pink elephants charged through the room, Sasuke got up and bent over double (just in case), snuck over to the window.

He immediately noticed why she hadn't appeared at breakfast along with the other owls that morning the moment he picked her up. Her feathers were ruffled and she was holding one wing at an odd angle, as if something had attacked her. It also didn't escape his notice that there was a letter tied to her leg. The letter aside though, the sight of the owl as he gently set her on his shoulder and went back to his seat brought together all the hints and clues he'd pig-headedly ignored ever since this whole mess had occurred.

Whether he liked it or not, Harry Potter did not lead an ordinary, safe type of life. Stuck in his body for the time being, Sasuke knew he didn't have anywhere to go and any enemy of Harry – and that meant Voldermort – wouldn't know the difference. If someone was attacking Hedwig to intercept his mail then his situation was grimmer then he'd previously estimated. While he might not like Ron and Hermione because they reminded him of hom- Konoha, they _were_ trying to help. Hermione's brains couldn't be faulted and Ron's loyalty could no more be questioned than Naruto's. He'd been a fool to arrogantly ignore them the way he had and think that this would all be solved quickly and it would seem like no more than a dream. Hadn't Snape said it himself? A solution was several months away at best.

So having noted Hedwig's condition too, Sasuke didn't argue with Hermione when she offered to take the owl to Professor Grubbly-Plank. He hastily untied the note secured around Hedwig's ankle and watched Hermione make some lame sort of excuse and depart. Ron glanced over curiously when Sasuke carefully undid the note beneath his desk and opened it up to read it.

In a writing style Sasuke didn't recognise, someone had written five words:

_Today, same place, same time. _

Sasuke glanced at Ron and raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Snuffles," Ron whispered back. "I'll tell you later."

Sasuke said no more and wisely destroyed the message which had caused so much trouble in the first place with a careful fire charm he'd learned from Hermione. As he'd expected, Binns didn't notice the flaming parchment in the bin by the door.

Hermione met them outside of class as they headed down towards the dungeons. "Who's Snuffles?" asked Sasuke immediately.

"Sirius," answered Ron quietly out the corner of his mouth.

"Is that who the letter was from?" asked Hermione. Ron nodded and told her what Sirius had said. The two exchanged significant looks and suddenly Sasuke wasn't so sure he was going to like what was coming next. If he recalled correctly, Sirius meant Harry's godfather; the notorious Sirius Black who was still on the run from the ministry. Sasuke knew the real story from Hermione and he also knew Black wasn't in on the situation concerning Sasuke – yet. He had a strong suspicion it wasn't going to remain that way for long.

"What are you planning?" asked Sasuke since it was obvious to him they knew something he didn't.

"Don't worry about it Harry," replied Hermione. "Well speak to Dumbledore later about it."

Sasuke considered pursuing the topic but let it go with a sigh. He'd learn to recognise that stubborn gleam Hermione got when she wasn't going to give ground on something, particularly from having born witness to a number of homework sessions in which Ron had tried to wheedle some extra help out of his fellow prefect. Generally speaking Hermione was very good about it but if she chose to put her foot down, you didn't argue with her.

The rest of the day passed in an impatient blur to Sasuke. If Ron and Hermione were surprised by his slightly more tolerant disposition, they didn't say anything.

Potions got off to a rather satisfying start Sasuke thought smugly in the safety of his own mind but ended on a rather dismal note. Typically the Slytherin Quidditch team had had no trouble getting permission from Umbridge to reform the team and Malfoy was letting everyone known when the three Gryffindors arrived for their Potions class.

"Yeah Umbridge gave the Slytherin Quidditch team permission straight away. I went to ask her first thing this morning. Well, it was pretty much automatic, I mean, she knows my father really well, he's always popping in and out of the Ministry...it'll be interesting to see whether Gryffindors are allowed to keep playing, won't it?" bragged Malfoy a big smirk on his face the moment he noticed Sasuke, Ron and Hermione.

"Don't rise!" whispered Hermione imploringly but she was half a second too late. Knowing Malfoy wouldn't shut up and would only continue to needle until he got a reaction, Sasuke settled on giving him exactly what he wanted, especially considering Snape wasn't around to protect his precious golden Slytherin.

He thrust his bag into Ron's startled hands and shot across the space between him and Malfoy as fast as Harry's body would allow. Malfoy baulked when he saw him coming.

"What are you doing Potter? My father-"

But Malfoy got no further as Sasuke's knuckles collided with the blond boy's cheek. Malfoy went down with a tremendous yell and Sasuke was back in line smirking at him several moments later. Malfoy sat up, one hand clutching his cheek, grey eyes narrowed in fury.

"Potter! You'll pay for this!" hissed Malfoy angrily.

"Will I?" drawled Sasuke, casually taking his bag back from a gaping Ron. "Perhaps if you had the guts to make me I might but seeing as you're planning on going crying to Daddy, I don't think that'll be happening."

Malfoy's face went bright pink and he spluttered furiously. Unfortunately at that moment Snape opened the door to the dungeons. Seeing Malfoy on the ground at his feet with his purple cheek and looking up the line of smirking Gryffindors, Snape quickly drew his conclusions. "Twenty points from Gryffindor for Mr Malfoy's injury. Inside, all of you," he commanded silkily and with a sigh, the Gryffindors obeyed.

Potions was made marginally bearable by the simple fact that Umbridge was sitting in on Snape's class that day as required by her role as the Hogwarts High Inquisitor. The tangible dislike coming off Snape in waves as the lesson progressed almost made their Potions class fun for the first time. To his credit, Snape didn't roll over and die under Umbridge's barely tolerable presence and unfortunately for Sasuke, Snape took his displeasure out on him by assigning him an extra essay for no particular reason despite the homework he'd already given the class.

By the time he and Ron reached Divinations, Sasuke was ready for the day to end. Apparently however, even Umbridge's influence had reached their Divination class. Professor Trelawney's surprisingly foul mood meant she'd most likely received her inspection results Ron muttered to him after she just about took Seamus Finnegan's head off his shoulders when she threw a copy of the _Oracle_ at Seamus and Dean. Pavarti and Lavender's feeble efforts to find out what had upset their beloved Professor so greatly amounted to nothing and Professor Trelawney spent the rest of the lesson striding among them, tears leaking from beneath her glasses and muttering angrily under her breath.

In was no great surprise to Sasuke that he was actually eager to get to Defence Against the Dark Arts for once. At least he could look forward to a relatively straightforward lesson even if it was copying from a book. When Umbridge smugly gave out her instructions at the beginning of the lesson no one protested and everyone wisely complied; Sasuke, Ron and Hermione among them.

When Angelina told them in a hollow voice after dinner that night in the common room that there was no more Quidditch practice, Sasuke wasn't the least bit surprised.

0-0-0-0-0-0

When Harry woke the next morning it was only because Ron was vigorously shaking his shoulder. He moaned and swatted at the hand. "Bugger off Ron, it's too early."

The hand didn't let up though and only shook harder. With a huffy sigh, Harry sat up, fully prepared to smack Ron one only to realise Kakashi was the one shaking his shoulder and that's when Harry remembered his friend was back in England and he was here, somewhere in Fire Country.

He blinked stupidly for a moment as the thought settled in and looked around the camp site. The sun wasn't even up yet and had shrouded the world in a shade of perpetual grey. Kakashi moved away to finish putting the last few things into his pack. Naruto and Sakura had already packed. He was filling in the fire pit while she was moving around the camp site, scattering bits of debris and smoothing out their tracks in the dirt as she went.

Grumbling mentally to himself and wishing for a cup of Mrs. Weasley's hot chocolate, Harry clumsily rolled up his bed roll, yawning as he did so. After much fiddling with his stiff fingers, he managed to secure the bed roll to the top of his pack and seeing the Konoha headband sticking out of the side pocket where he'd placed it the previous night, Harry took it out.

He looked at it for a moment, noting the way the Konoha symbol had been etched deeply into the metal and the surface polished until it gleamed. The metal plate was attached with four little metal tacks to a strip of dark blue fabric; standard issue according to Kakashi.

Still kneeling, Harry raised the protector to his forehead and tied it in place, mindful not to catch his hair in the knot. The press of the band where his scar had once been felt odd but somewhat reassuring. He couldn't remember how often he'd wished for a better way to hide it and now he had one. Unfortunately it wouldn't do him much good here and he'd just look silly back at Hogwarts.

Shrugging the thought aside, Harry stood and hefted his pack onto his shoulders. He turned and jumped as he came face to face with Naruto. The blond boy was standing a foot away from Harry and at this range; he could see a scar running just over Naruto's left eyebrow and that the tips of Naruto's eyelashes were slightly lighter than the rest.

"Take that off," he snarled angrily. His eyes flickered upwards towards the Konoha forehead protector so it was easy to understand what he meant.

"Naruto," murmured Kakashi warningly. The Jounin had paused on the other side of the clearing, Sakura nervously watching next to him.

"He's got no right to wear that Kakashi-sensei!" snapped Naruto. "He's not even a real ninja."

"That's not important Naruto," answered Kakashi mildly, his tone giving nothing away.

"I had to earn mine, fair and square!"

"That's neither here nor there Naruto," answered Kakashi almost lazily. "It's for his protection and so long as you and I know he's not a real shinobi of the Leaf, that's fine."

Naruto glared angrily at Kakashi and suddenly rounded on Harry who was secretly pleased that he didn't flinch despite Naruto's aggressive expression.

"The teme earned his too," said Naruto bitterly to him.

Not quite knowing what to say, Harry said nothing and again suddenly, Naruto whirled and stalked away. Kakashi sighed and watched him go. He shrugged his shoulders when he saw Harry's worried gaze.

"He misses Sasuke," said Kakashi, as if that explained everything.

Inwardly Harry withdrew from them just a little more. Hell but if he didn't want Sirius right now.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Well sorry for the long delay. Uni has kept me really busy recently and I'm now on Semester break. Yay! Good news is the wait means I've worked out most of the plot. It's easy for Sasuke since most of its pre-written but Harry was a lot harder and I wanted to make something interesting and with some good twists. Hopefully you guys will like it. ^_^

I wanted to write a different scene with Malfoy and Sasuke but I ran out of room for this chappy. I'll have to save that for another day. Hope you all liked Naruto's anticipated reaction too. Wasn't sure which way to go with it but if you think about the reasoning behind Naruto's anger, I'm sure you guys will get it.

Love to hear comments from you! Cheers.


	7. Alliances

**Chapter Seven **

**Alliances **

Glancing suspiciously at the clock resting on the mantle, Sasuke wondered as he paused in his restless pacing if the thing had deliberately stopped just to irritate him. It felt like it had been 11:37 for hours and Ron and Hermione still weren't back. They'd snuck out over an hour ago to see Dumbledore.

With an irritable sigh, Sasuke resumed his pacing again but stopped after only a few steps. This was ridiculous! He hadn't been this nervous since Kakashi's little bell test when he was twelve. Honestly, what was the matter with him? He was a trained killer – had faced down enemies that would make most grown wizards cry. He was even confident he could take Orochimaru on and defeat him within the next six months. _That_ was no measly feat.

A creaking behind him indicated the common room door had opened. Sasuke immediately turned to face the door, a small flicker of relief washing over him - something he was very careful to keep hidden as Ron and Hermione entered, closely followed by Dumbledore himself.

"Ah, Sasuke," acknowledged the old man with a smile. "Sorry to have kept you waiting. I'm afraid Professor Umbridge was making herself somewhat of a nuisance."

"More like a downright pain," grumbled Ron. The lanky teenager sank gratefully into one of the plush red lounges. With a sigh and a roll of her eyes, Hermione sat down opposite him and after a moment's reflection, carefully moved her knight to take one of Ron's pawns. Chuckling, Dumbledore moved forward to stoke the fire.

Sasuke ignored the headmaster, his eyes on Ron. He and Hermione had been playing a game of wizard's chess before they'd gone to fetch Dumbledore. For the first time, Ron had surprised him.

Ron looked thoughtfully at the board for a moment and then easily took Hermione's knight with his rook. Hermione sighed in exasperation and Sasuke narrowed his eyes, deep in thought.

Ron didn't seem terribly clever – in fact he'd never shown much of an aptitude for anything. Yet in this game of chess he was clearly a dozen moves ahead of Hermione. She'd been reduced to only a few pieces, something that wouldn't have been easy to do to arguably one of the brightest people he'd even met. It might be true that perhaps she wasn't much of a strategist but she at least shouldn't have been losing so badly.

It made Sasuke think. Ron certainly wasn't witty or quick thinking but he was obviously capable of planning, especially several moves in advance. That kind of skill was cherished amongst shinobis and Sasuke wondered why he'd never seen it before. He tucked the thought away for the time being, prepared to mull over it at a later date.

Catching Sasuke's look, Ron misinterpreted it as anxiousness. "Don't worry Sasuke. Sirius will be mad – don't get me wrong. He'll shout and carry on but once Dumbledore's explained it to him he'll calm down. Most likely treat you like dirt for awhile and be suspicious but he'll come around."

Ron sounded sincere but Sasuke did not feel reassured. He'd heard little of Sirius Black but from what he _could_ gather; Sirius' nature suggested a stubborn streak a mile wild.

"Ronald is quite correct," remarked Dumbledore mildly. "Sirius will understand in time but he will not like it."

The headmaster withdrew his wand from his robes and lightly tapped the brickwork besides the stairs to the boys and girls dormitories. Briefly the two openings flashed white and then faded back to nothing, as if Dumbledore hadn't done anything at all.

"What did you do Professor?" asked Hermione curiously.

"A small illusion charm. It will prevent any wayward students from finding their way down here when perhaps they shouldn't," replied the Headmaster.

Their conversation was interrupted though, by the soft chiming of midnight as the minute hand ticked over. The attention of the other focused on the fire. Watching them, Sasuke looked to flames too and thus in silence, they waited.

The clock fell silent but only a few moments had passed when something within the flames suddenly moved. Sasuke tensed, unsure of what to expect. To his shock, the flames seemed to flicker and weave together and suddenly a face appeared. The face looked up at the four of them and a slight trace of surprise flickered across his features when he noticed the Headmaster.

"Good evening Sirius," said Dumbledore with a polite tilt of his head.

"Professor! Er...hello?" answered the head of Sirius Black.

"No cause for alarm," said Dumbledore smoothly. "However, I must stress that Dolorus Umbridge is watching the Floo Network. I've temporarily thrown her off the trail but she usually checks every half hour so we haven't much time. If you wouldn't mind stepping through, Sirius? This will make things easier."

"Of course Professor," answered Sirius after only a moment's hesitation. His head abruptly vanished and several seconds later in an explosion of green flame, Sirius Black stepped out of the grate and into the Gryffindor common room.

The man was not what Sasuke had been expecting. His features were friendly enough – as Ron and Hermione had described but he moved with a certain awareness. Dressed in a short sleeved black outer robe and black pants and shirt beneath, Black would be able to fight with relative ease should the occasion call for it. The robe was slit up both sides, allowing for easy movement and only fell to his knees so they'd be no accidentally tripping in the midst of a fight. As only one could know of another, Sasuke was instantly aware that Black had seen battle before – was probably even trained for it and was therefore, a rather dangerous foe.

"What's all this about Dumbledore? I got the impression Harry was just having a bit of trouble with Umbridge," asked Sirius getting straight to the point. His face was open enough but there was a definite sharpness lurking behind his eyes, an awareness that something more was going on.

"Yes, well I'm afraid since Harry last wrote to you a somewhat unfortunate situation has developed," replied Dumbledore. "You see, Harry was involved in a potions accident in class. Normally we call in the special department in the Ministry to deal with this sought of thing if it can't be immediately resolved by the school. However, given what has happened and being who he is, it was better not to involve the ministry in this. If word reached Lord Voldermort I'm afraid he would probably try to take advantage of the situation."

Sasuke watched Sirius carefully, noting how his features had tightened and his grey eyes darkened to a steely tone. He looked at Sasuke for a moment. Sasuke returned his gaze calmly, completely unflinchingly. The situation might have been out of his hands but Sasuke refused to allow it to rule him. Sirius turned his attention back to Dumbledore after several long moments of silence.

"I'm sorry to say it Sirius but Harry is currently not here. The mind or soul inhabiting his body is that of Sasuke Uchiha. The potion caused a switch – why Sasuke himself, I am not sure. He is actually a shinobi or a ninja from the Hidden Lands off the coast of Asia. I assume you've heard of them?"

"I have," answered Sirius faintly, his face white. Sirius was staring at him now. Sasuke unobtrusively tensed, prepared for anything.

"I thought they were just a myth though," continued Sirius in a daze. "Remus was going on about them one summer. He thought it'd be amazing to find a way to get there but I never thought...Professor are you sure this is what happened?"

Sirius looked back to Dumbledore hopefully. The old man's eyes were completely serious though and without a word, Sirius almost collapsed into a chair behind him.

"I'm sorry Black," murmured Sasuke. "Potter has my body. Hopefully he hasn't done anything that'll get him killed."

That however, was the wrong thing to say and Sasuke cursed his lack of tack. Sirius was out of the chair with a roar. Every instinct commanded Sasuke that he move but he forced himself to remain still as Sirius grabbed the front of his robes and slammed him onto his back on one of the heavy wooden desks students normally did their homework at. The blow smarted painfully but Sasuke gritted his teeth and lay still. Sirius' silver gaze glinted in the fire light above him. Whatever control he still had over himself, it would be wise not to push him.

"Sirius!" shrieked Hermione. In his peripheral vision Sasuke saw she and Ron start forward. He shot them a glare and they halted. Only Dumbledore hadn't moved though a look of faint surprise graced his ancient features at Sirius' actions.

"What the hell do you mean by that?" snarled Sirius, ignoring Hermione's pleas.

"I mean," replied Sasuke, careful to keep his face blank and his voice even, "that the world I live in is an extremely volatile one. I don't see the point in keeping the truth from you. My trainer is an extremely dangerous man and definitely insane. If Potter didn't manage to sneak away from him and Orochimaru discovered the truth, I don't like to think what he may have done to my body by now. If Potter is as clever and perceptive as everyone keeps saying he is however, then he's probably fine."

Sirius stared at him, his face now blank although Sasuke knew the anger must still be lurking beneath his calm features. Several moments of tense silence passed but finally Sirius let him go and Sasuke sat up slowly, deliberately hiding his pain at the slight movement. He could already feel the bruise forming. By tomorrow his back would most likely be purple but Sasuke hardly cared. An idea had struck him – one he knew would be hard to accomplish but he already knew he'd do everything in his power to achieve it within moments of thinking up the idea. It had occurred to him that it was probably in his best interests to get Sirius to teach him something about how to defend himself against a wizarding threat. The loss of his chakra and fighting prowess had never sat well with him. In fact, the thought had terrified him in the beginning and worried him ever since. The only problem would be convincing Sirius and that, Sasuke knew, would be no easy task.

Sirius turned away and braced his body against the mantle piece.

"I am sorry this has happened Sirius," said Dumbledore softly. "It is not a good time for us, as I'm sure you're aware. But we must not despair. We have to make the most of the situation. We are fortunate that someone of Sasuke's calibre was indeed the one who was switched with Harry. He is proving himself well."

Sirius made a rather disapproving noise and turned to face Dumbledore. "That hardly matters to me. My question is what's been done about it?" he snapped.

"As we speak, Severus is working on a solution," replied Dumbledore calmly.

Sirius' face darkened at Dumbledore's reply. "Snape?" he spat. "Snape's probably already told old Moldy himself."

"Come now Sirius," chided Dumbledore. "There may be a great amount of animosity between yourself and Harry with Severus but we have been through this before. It is hardly in Severus' best interests not to put forth his greatest efforts in returning Harry and Sasuke to their original states."

Glaring mulishly, Sirius stalked away, this time absently picking up an abandoned second year book and idly flipping through it. Sasuke could sense the frustration boiling beneath the surface. Black moved like a caged panther: prowling about the common room in the awkward silence that followed. Hermione watched him with open sympathy and Ron's ears burned, unsure of what to do in the current situation. Sasuke was careful not to let Sirius catch him looking directly at him. He regarded to black clothed man warily. Only Dumbledore seemed as calm and poised as ever.

"In any case," remarked the Headmaster eventually. "You should be going soon Sirius. You probably have much to think about. If I may, perhaps I might suggest you spend some time in your family library? Knowing the history of your family, perhaps you might turn up something of interest."

Sirius grunted noncommittally and tossed the book back on the desk. "Perhaps," he agreed. Stepping back towards the fireplace, Sirius groped in his pockets and pulled out a handful of something fine and glittery. He paused however, before throwing it on the fire.

Glancing at Sasuke, Sirius said, "Harry asked me about how he should deal with Umbridge. My advice to him would be; don't let her get to you. She's only one woman. If he was anything like his father, he wouldn't let her stop him. As for everyone else, their words will only bother you if you let them."

"Thanks," replied Sasuke solemnly. He didn't need the advice but it was good to know that behind the words, at least it seemed he had an ally in Sirius Black, even if he was an unwilling one.

Sirius nodded curtly in reply and tossed the fine powder in his hand on the fire. The flames roared to life in a green blaze. Sirius stepped into them, said something Sasuke didn't catch and was gone in a whirl of flames a moment later.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Irritably bringing up the rear of their small party, Harry watched the yellow head of Uzumaki Naruto move far ahead. The other teenager's word still lingered in his ears.

_The teme earned his too..._

Harry didn't know what exactly he meant by that but he was smart enough to realise that Naruto apparently believe it was a privilege to wear the symbol of Konoha.

Harry couldn't really care less he'd decided. Left to his own devices at the rear of the party, he'd been stewing about Naruto's words all morning. He hadn't felt this angry since his argument with Ron and Hermione in Grimmauld Place over the summer. Right now though, the exclusion he'd felt back then was nothing compared to how he felt now.

When Kakashi dropped back around mid morning as they travelled through a shallow ravine, bordered on either side by the distinctively enormous trees of Fire Country, Harry barely managed to keep his temper in check. He knew it wouldn't do him any good to pick a fight but it was hard not to. He didn't have any friends here, he didn't know the first thing about being a shinobi and worse, he almost certainly didn't know how to go about defending himself.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd think I was looking at the real Sasuke," remarked Kakashi idly.

Harry glared in response, wary of opening his mouth in case he said something he might later regret.

Kakashi sighed deeply. "Come on kid. Glaring holes in Naruto's back isn't going to solve anything. We need to start teaching you something sooner or later. I don't suppose you can still use magic?"

"I need my wand for that," snapped Harry.

Kakashi shrugged, as if Harry's answer didn't really matter. "Just wondering. Anyway, how do you feel about starting with the basic hand signs?"

Harry hesitated to answer. On the one hand, he didn't particularly want to talk to anyone right now but on the other, he was curious. It stood to reason that he probably had Sasuke's abilities to perform chakra techniques and having witnessed Kakashi's tree climbing skills the night before; he wondered what else it might be possible to do.

"Alright," he agreed finally.

"Well," replied Kakashi, "there are twelve different hand formations which channel magic or in other words, chakra. They also have variations of each form which are half forms or in reverse. See?"

Slowly, so Harry had time to take in the way Kakashi shaped his hands, Kakashi ran through the twelve different signs, naming them as he went. "Rat, Ox, Tiger, Hare, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Ram, Monkey, Bird, Dog and Boar."*

Kakashi formed the signs again and reluctantly letting his anger slide for now, this time Harry went through them with him, Kakashi again naming each one.

They went through it several times until Harry could remember each sign with at most, only a second or two to think about it. Though not necessarily difficult to perform, some of the hand formations were a little tricky but the apparent dexterity of Sasuke's fingers easily allowed Harry to form the signs. (Harry supposed the dexterity came from long practice.)

They paused for a short break a little while later near a small forest pond. Naruto sullenly crouched and scratched in the mud at his feet near the pond shore while Kakashi and Harry stayed at the entrance to the clearing. With a sigh, Sakura went to keep her team mate company.

"Since we've got that down pat, we'll try performing a simply henge technique," said Kakashi, taking advantage of the short break. "It's the most basic of illusions and all shinobi learn it as one of their first techniques. It's called the Henge no Jutsu. To perform it, you need either to form the Ram seal in reverse or just the Tiger seal. We'll start with Tiger since it's easier and less confusing. Both are just as effective but the reverse Ram seal makes the technique far more potent. To release, it's just a case of forming one hand in the Ram technique."

Kakashi demonstrated the reverse and the half forms of the Ram seal to Harry and also showed him the Tiger seal again. Harry dutifully copied Kakashi.

"Now," continued the older shinobi. "Drawing upon your chakra isn't something that can be taught. All shinobi learn how to do it and as they get older they learn how to 'feel' it and thus, understand how much they're drawing upon. By the time you get old enough to think about it and start inventing your own jutsus, you'll have some idea of the power they require and therefore won't go drawing upon so much you'll burn out without realising it. If you can't use magic though and you're in Sasuke's body with his physical abilities, then it's probably fair to say you have his chakra reserves so the Henge no jutsu will be safe for you to attempt."

"So I just give it a go then?" asked Harry dubiously.

Kakashi moved his shoulders just enough to indicate a shrug. "Try it but I don't think anything will happen."

Harry signed and formed the hand signs again. From what he'd heard here and from all he knew about magic, he could summarise that magic and chakra weren't the same thing he supposed but they were similar. Logically speaking then, his chakra should come to him and the jutsu should work so long as he did the hand signs perfectly and said the title of the jutsu correctly – much like chanting the incantation of a spell.

"Henge no jutsu," said Harry firmly. Nothing however, happened. He looked at Kakashi who only half heartedly shrugged again. Feeling his neck burn with embarrassment, Harry tried again and again and again. Nothing.

"Keep at it kid," advised Kakashi and without another word, he drifted over to Sakura and Naruto who'd begun a short squabbling match.

Scowling but at least no longer under scrutiny anymore, Harry tried to figure out what he was doing wrong. There was something missing, some vital piece of information he was forgetting. He thought back to his first lessons during his early days at Hogwarts but nothing sprang to mind. Hermione probably would have figured it out by now Harry realised and he once again bitterly wished he had his clever friend's company. Ron's bracing presence would have been fantastic too to combat Naruto's occasional dark glances. They weren't here though and Harry knew he'd have to figure this out on his own.

He thought about it for a few minutes, absently watching as Kakashi refilled their canteens and Naruto and Sakura continued their argument. Harry had noticed they happened quite a lot – usually instigated when Naruto said something stupid. They always ended the same way too with Sakura bopping Naruto one and that was the end of it.

He sighed and tried to ignore them despite their raised voices. The answer was just dangling on the edge of his senses – he could feel it.

When he finally realised what he'd been missing he just about contemplated renewing that thought on arguing and starting a rather massive fight with Kakashi. The silver haired man may not have done it on purpose but Harry wouldn't put it past him to neglect probably the most crucial detail needed in performing the jutsu. It stood to reason that the illusion wouldn't work if he didn't firmly fix in his mind what he _wanted to transform_ into.

Having realised that, Harry immediately called to mind the form of Shikamaru. The lazy shinobi had been the first one Harry had witnessed perform a henge and the incident had definitely left a lingering memory. Focusing hard on every last detail he could remember of Shikamaru and knowing how important this part always was in performing any type of similar spell, Harry tried the henge one final time.

A strange warm feeling fizzed all throughout his body as smoke erupted around him. It felt rather like someone had introduced thousands of tiny little doxies into his blood which rushed through his veins, flittering as they went.

When the smoke cleared a few moments later, Harry looked down at himself and noted the changes. A green flak jacket now adorned his torso. When he reached up and felt his hair, it was definitely pulled back into a tight pony tail just like Shikamaru's. Unable to resist, Harry felt his face break into a huge, pleased grin. He was sure he looked ridiculous but he was unable to help it, especially when he caught sight of Naruto and Sakura's gob smacked expressions. Even Kakashi looked a little surprised but he soon covered it up with a small smile.

"Well it seems even when Sasuke's not in his own body he's still a genius," remarked Kakashi.

Harry smirked. "I doubt it. I'm pretty average as far as most things go. My friend Hermione is the real genius but I've been doing magic since I was eleven. Even I could figure out I needed to think of what I wanted to turn into." Suddenly feeling bitter, Harry added, "at least you could have told me that. I doubt you forgot." He glared at Kakashi but the silver haired man seemed unfazed.

"Humph!" glowered Naruto who finally seemed to have regained his composure. He whirled and went to angrily stalk away but in his haste, Naruto tripped over an exposed tree root and rather ungracefully crashed into Kakashi.

With a small pop, Kakashi burst into cloud of smoke and vanished. Naruto hit the dirt and blinked rather stupidly, blue eyes wide with surprise. "What...?" he murmured.

"Oh no!" gasped Sakura.

"What?" asked Harry, alarmed at Kakashi's abrupt disappearance.

"Kakashi-sensei must have sensed someone dangerous in the area and left a clone behind so he could go and investigate," explained Sakura.

_A clone?_ wondered Harry but seeing Sakura's slightly panicked expression, he thought better of asking.

"That baka-sensei," she suddenly growled. "He went off on his own – typical!"

Chucking off her pack, Sakura extracted a kunai from one of the pouches tied to her waist and whirled on her blond team mate.

"Naruto! Stay here and watch Sasuke. I'll go find Kakashi-sensei," she ordered.

"But!" stammered Naruto. One fierce green-eyed glare from Sakura however made Naruto immediately halt any further protests. Without another word, Sakura was gone.

0-0-0-0-0-0

While most of the other students enjoyed a sleep in on the first day of the weekend, Sasuke quietly departed from the Gryffindor tower. He was barely awake himself but nightmares had driven him from his bed before the sun was up. Not wanting to linger in his room, Sasuke had hastily dressed and left, hoping a walk would clear his head.

He didn't particularly have any destination in mind as he meandered through the school hallways. The world was washed in an endless shade of grey, courtesy of the slowly lightening sky in the east. It would be dawn soon but it'd be at least another hour after that before the first staff members began to stir for the day.

Eventually Sasuke found himself in an unfamiliar part of the lower levels. He supposed it must be near the lake since most of the walls and floor were damp and covered in slime. He had to move cautiously in order to avoid slipping in the muck.

It was awhile before he noticed the distant noise he'd been hearing for some time and when he did, he realised it was the sound of footsteps. Someone else was also wandering the lower levels although Sasuke couldn't fathom who. It was much too early for any student and Sasuke doubted anyone else would come down the dank corridors he was now roaming.

His curiosity piqued, Sasuke pulled his hood up and twisted his robes so that the Gryffindor badge was hidden from sight. Slipping into the shadows, Sasuke followed the sound of the footsteps.

It only took him a minute to catch up with the source although he was surprised to find out who it was. Looking visibly rumpled and pale, Draco Malfoy certainly didn't appear his usual aloof self as he cautiously looked about himself and then slipped into a room he had come to.

Definitely wanting to know what was going on now, Sasuke warily snuck over to the door. Malfoy had left it partially ajar. Peaking though, Sasuke could see the room seemed mostly abandoned save for a tall mirror in one corner. Malfoy was now standing before it, his shoulders hunched and not a trance of the aristocratic appearance he normally presented. In the mirror Sasuke could vaguely see the reflection of Malfoy's tired grey eyes. Heavy bags hung beneath them and taking a closer look at Malfoy's appearance, Sasuke realised Malfoy also wasn't wearing his school robes but just a plain robe of a dark navy blue.

He watched Malfoy for nearly a minute but the other teenager didn't do anything remotely significant. He was almost about to leave Malfoy to his brooding when the pale haired Slytherin suddenly seemed to tense up.

Malfoy whirled, his wand coming out with surprising speed. A hex hit the wall near Sasuke's head with a bang. Sasuke didn't even flinch. He'd known the moment the other had fired it wouldn't hit him.

"Come out!" snarled Malfoy. "I know you're there."

"If you knew," replied Sasuke calmly as he stepped into the room and lowered his hood, "then why did you deliberately miss?"

"Potter!" growled Malfoy once he saw Sasuke's face. "What the hell do you want? I ought to hex you and that way all those Gryffindor mudbloods would have something to really cry over."

Sasuke glared. Malfoy had just deliberately ignored the question he'd ask. That alone told Sasuke he was hiding something. The fact that he'd sensed him and could have hit him if he'd wanted to also spoke volumes. The blond Slytherin wasn't what he seemed and Sasuke was definitely going to call his bluff on it.

"You could have hit me Malfoy. In fact, you probably guessed I was there at least a few seconds before you did anything about it. You're not acting like the Malfoy I know," said Sasuke.

The Slytherin didn't lower his wand an inch. "Funny, I could almost say the same thing about you Potter."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes slightly. That wasn't good. Malfoy was more perceptive than he appeared.

"You haven't once lost your temper with me Potter," said Malfoy. "In fact, you're almost acting...well...like a Slytherin these days. I want to know why."

"What's it to you Malfoy?" asked Sasuke. Malfoy might be suspicious but he didn't really know anything. "Perhaps I've had a change of heart. Maybe I'm not as willing to put up with you as I was in the past."

Malfoy sneered, the expression more familiar than all the ones he'd exhibited thus far to Sasuke. "You're forgetting who's got the wand here Potter."

With a flick of his wrist, Malfoy fired a second spell with lighting fast accuracy. Sasuke was ready for it though and ducked. His wand was out and his paralysing spell hit Malfoy only half a second after he'd fired off his spell.

The blond Slytherin stiffened and collapsed onto the cold flagstones. Walking over to Malfoy, Sasuke leaned over him. Even paralysed, the Slytherin still managed to glare furiously.

"Why don't you chill out for a little while Malfoy?" said Sasuke calmly to the Slytherin. With one final look, Sasuke turned and left the Slytherin alone, briefly wondering as he shut the door behind him how long it would take someone (probably Snape) to find the blond teenager.

0-0-0-0-0-0

"So," said Harry carefully, "how long do you think it'll take Sakura to find Kakashi and come back?"

Naruto glared sullenly at him. He was seated on a log while Harry had taken up a position leaning against a nearby tree. He still looked like Shikamaru but only because he didn't know how to reverse the jutsu yet.

"You could answer me," said Harry when Naruto went back to doodling in the dirt. He'd noticed Naruto tended to do that a lot around him.

Naruto however, only shrugged which wasn't really an answer. With a frustrated sigh, Harry sank and sat on the ground, his knees tucked up and his back resting comfortably against the tree still.

"Look," he said after a moment, this time trying a different approach. "I'm stuck like this; I can't do anything about it. It wasn't even my fault it happened. Some of my friends were arguing. A long story short: they dropped a whole bunch of the wrong ingredients in my potion and knocked it all over me. I didn't ask for this ok? So can you just please stop treating me like dirt?"

"Why should I?" snapped Naruto. _Finally a response_ although not the one Harry had been hoping for. "I don't like you!"

"Yeah well I don't like you either!" Harry shot back crossly.

"Prick!"

"Moron!"

"Stupid idiot!"

"Stuck-up git!"

"Bastard!"

About to call Naruto a prat, Harry paused when he noticed Naruto's expression. He looked slightly stunned.

"Naruto? Sasuke?"

Turning and only then realising they were both on their feet, Harry looked at Sakura. She'd finally returned with their missing sensei in toe. She glanced worriedly between them. Whatever Kakashi felt, Harry couldn't tell. The man's face was perfectly blank.

"It's fine Sakura-chan," mumbled Naruto awkwardly after a moment. "Where'd you go sensei?" he asked, abruptly changing the subject.

Kakashi and Sakura shared a grim look.

"It was Kabuto," explained Kakashi with a sigh. "He's looking for Sasuke although he won't pursue us. He's well aware of the type of threat I am to him and he doesn't know Sasuke is actually with us. Even if he does decide to follow on a vague hunch, he won't dare confront us face to face. We're too powerful for him. I'm going to put my dogs out though in a seven mile radius around us. He knows I normally use a five mile radius and he'll stick with what he knows. If he does follow, we'll be aware of it."

"Damn," muttered Naruto. "Why didn't you catch him Kakashi-sensei?"

"He got away," answered Sakura, disappointment tinging her voice. "I let him get past me."

"Don't be too hard on yourself Sakura," said Kakashi giving her a slight pat on the shoulder. "Kabuto's clever and extremely cunning."

Sakura looked a little better but not much.

"Alright then, let's move out," said Kakashi.

They all nodded and moved to do so. Harry however, had only gone several steps when he suddenly stopped. With a slight pop, his henge disappeared. He only had a moment to blink woozily at Naruto's surprised face before he felt himself falling and everything went black.

* * *

**Author's Note: **

Ok, that's it for another chappie. Sorry for the long delay but life has been crazy and inspiration quite rare indeed. For those of you that keep asking me to update and also to do it more often, you might as well not bother. I write spontaneously and life is busy. It gets done when it gets done so sorry if it's not to your liking.

* The hand signs in "Naruto" are taken from the Chinese Zodiac. However, supposably on the personal whim of the author or perhaps incorrect translation (I don't know) there are a couple of discrepancies that I thought you guys should be advised of. Some of the animals are changed slightly. In the Zodiac, these animals are listed as Rooster, Pig, Rabbit and Goat. However, the author changed Rooster to Bird, Pig to Boar, Rabbit to Hare and Goat to Ram. So there you go. I've written them down as they are in "Naruto" though so you shouldn't get confused or anything.


	8. Acknowledge Me!

**Chapter Eight**

**Acknowledge Me!**

It was the chilly breeze that woke him which made the ache in his bones feel all that much worse. Groggily, Harry opened his eyes and stared up at dim ceiling above him. It was difficult to make out in the gloom just what kind of ceiling it was but something about the texture suggested that it was wooden.

Easing himself up onto his elbows, Harry grunted as his body protested the movement. The noise drew Sakura's attention and she quickly moved to his side and helped him to sit up.

"What happened?" Harry asked and winced at the dry feeling in his throat.

Sakura handed him a canteen of water as she answered. "You passed out. Chakra exhaustion," she explained.

"I what?" asked Harry just before he took a big swig. The cool liquid slid down his throat, soothing as it went.

"You drew upon too much chakra when you performed the henge. You completely exhausted your reserves," Sakura elaborated.

"Oh," replied Harry, suddenly feeling a little embarrassed. "Where are we? What's going on?" he asked, opting to change the subject.

"We've found temporary shelter in this hollowed out old log," replied Sakura. She swept her hand around her, indicating the rounded, wooden walls. The wood ceiling now made sense Harry supposed.

"We took shelter because of the storm that's brewing – unnatural that is. Kakashi-sensei and Naruto are investigating. It probably means an ANBU border patrol ran into a few rogue mist nin. The border's only another half a day from her so that's the most likely scenario although it could be something else," explained Sakura.

"Right," answered Harry. He shifted, trying to stretch his aching muscles but the hollow was a little too cramped and he only managed a half decent stretch.

Catching his grimace of annoyance, Sakura shot him a sympathetic smile. "Don't worry, it'll pass. I've siphoned a little of my own chakra to you. Your body will replenish the rest on it's own although I'll also give you a soldier pill to help."

She passed him a round, green ball about the size of a gobstopper. "Suck on it for a minute until it's soft and then chew it," she instructed.

"Thanks," replied Harry as he accepted the pill. He popped it into his mouth and did his best not to spit it straight back out. The thing didn't exactly taste bad but Harry reckoned some of Snape's nastier potions probably tasted better.

The soft tread of footfalls alerted Harry and Sakura to the rest of their team's return a few minutes later. Kakashi and Naruto slipped through the opening: both mud splattered and in Naruto's case, apparently annoyed.

"Kakashi-sensei you didn't have to leave me behind like that!" complained Naruto. "I had to fight two of 'em on my own and one of those bastards knocked me into the river."

"It didn't do you any harm Naruto," replied Kakashi mildly. "Have a good sleep?" he inquired in Harry's direction.

"Er, alright," answered Harry around the pill. He bit on it and winced. It was still hard enough that it hadn't broken.

Naruto's blue eyes landed on him and to Harry's surprise, they suddenly lit up. "How's your head bastard?" he inquired with a cheeky smile.

The expression was so unfamiliar on Naruto that Harry momentarily felt a little lost. He'd never seen Uzumaki smile once (at him at least) and it was slightly disconcerting.

"Er…fine?" Harry answered tentatively.

"Ha ha!" laughed Naruto. "You should have seen your face when you fell on me! I thought you were gonna puke."

Harry struggled to keep the blush off his face. _He fell on Naruto?_ That was news to him.

"Baka!" growled Sakura admonishingly. "Don't call him a bastard Naruto! How many times do I have to tell you not to call people names? Besides, you only call Sasuke a bastard."

Naruto shrugged. "They ain't the same but they seem similar to me. I bet Harry's real body even looks like Sasuke. He probably scowls all the time like him to. Frankly, it wouldn't surprise me if they're long lost relatives or something, believe it!" replied Naruto.

Sakura rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Have it your way Naruto. Just don't get mud on me!"

Naruto chuckled nervously and tried to scoot a little further back but the hollow was so small he couldn't go any further. As it was, Kakashi's muddy arm was pressed against Harry's but he hardly cared. He'd finally chewed through the pill and already he was starting to feel a lot better.

"Well we might as well settle down and get some sleep," said Kakashi. "The mist will take awhile to dissipate and it'll be dark by then. We'll press on in the morning and cross the border about lunch time."

His order's give, Kakashi pushed their packs as far back as possible into the hollow and lay down awkwardly. He had to curl his tall frame around sideways and when Naruto lay down, he ended up using Kakashi's shins as a pillow.

Sakura placed a genjutsu over the hollow entrance and then she also lay down. Harry found himself squashed in the middle between her and Kakashi with his feet on Naruto's stomach. He held himself as still as possible, extremely aware of Sakura's back pressed against his left shoulder.

He thought it would take awhile to fall asleep again but within ten minutes he felt relaxed enough that he fell into a light sleep. By the time another ten had passed he'd descended into a completely dreamless sleep and knew no more until the following morning.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Kakashi roused them just after dawn. Somehow in the night they'd ended up sprawled all over one another like a pack of dogs. Only Kakashi didn't seem to mind the night's sleep he'd had. Naruto grumbled about a sore back and Sakura blushed every time she looked at Harry, which only made him feel uncomfortable. He supposed it was because he'd woken with Sakura half wrapped around his neck and his arm slung over her waist.

He secretly felt guilty that he hadn't minded the position and it was not because Sakura was so pretty. In truth, he preferred sleeping on his side and the position had allowed extra warmth between them. It was by far the most comfortable sleep he'd had in a long time. He was just glad Naruto hadn't seen them. The blonde boy obviously cared for Sakura and was somewhat over protective – in fact a lot like Ron was around Ginny. The last thing Harry wanted was to start another fight.

They packed up, ate a light breakfast and moved off at a steady clip. Harry still felt a little light headed but didn't worry about it. He was sure a bit more time was still needed to regain the chakra he'd lost.

Gradually the area started to become hilly and they scrambled up one rocky hill and down the next. Small streams flowed in the valleys in between and when they finally reached a deep canyon with a roaring river below around midday, Kakashi announced they'd reached the border between Fire Country and the Land of Rivers.

"There should be a bridge about a couple of miles South East of here," said Kakashi, standing just near the edge of the cliff. "We just need to cross it. From there it'll be about two weeks travelling through River Country and up through the Land of Snow. Really mountainous up there. Bad time of year too. There'll be a high chance of avalanches so we'll have to be careful."

Sakura, Naruto and Harry nodded. From what Harry had gathered, the other three had been to the Land of Snow before. He hadn't been anywhere where it was mountainous and snowing at the same time but he'd survived a total of four lots of three snowy months at Hogwarts each year until now so he supposed it wouldn't be too hard.

There was a sharp whistle of something cutting through the air and only instinct saved Harry's life.

He dodged backwards out of the path of three kunai. They struck the ground with a dull thunk. Harry ended up tripping over his own feet and falling on his backside.

He stared stupidly at the three blades for a moment. Kakashi shouted something at him although Harry wasn't paying enough attention to realise what it was. The noise however, somehow broke the spell that had fallen over him and he scrambled to his feet, wildly looking around for the source of the blades. There were several sharp clangs as Kakashi deflected a number of kunai. Naruto dodged sideways and Sakura flipped into the air, her body twisting gracefully as several projectiles flew past her.

Harry didn't see how they did it. One minute they were alone and the next there were half a dozen unfamiliar shinobi surrounding them. Harry didn't recognise all the symbols on the forehead protectors but he recalled enough from Kakashi's lesson that night in the tree to know the scratch through each symbol marked the six foreign shinobi as missing nin.

They were all male and definitely adult. Glancing at his teammates out the corner of his eye, Harry noticed that only Naruto looked confident.

Kakashi glared grimly with his one visible eye, a kunai of his own gripped in his hands. Sakura's face was drawn in concentration; her eyes flickering from one opponent to the next as her hand hovered over her weapons pouch. Naruto's grin was fierce though and his eyes blazed like fire. He didn't crouch, at the ready like the other two but stood tall and erect: openly defiant.

"Well, well," mused one of the shinobi. He was the tallest of the group with a brutish face and bulging muscles. He held a jagged looking blade in his hand and there was a patchwork of criss-crossed scars all over his naked chest. "If it isn't the Copy Ninja and three snot nosed little brats. Out for a little walk are we? It's about all you can manage in your old age."

The brutish nin grinned maliciously.

"Who are you calling a brat?" yelled Naruto angrily.

"Naruto," warned Kakashi out the side of his mouth. Harry silently agreed with him. He didn't want to provoke them into doing something. He knew he was next to useless and it wouldn't take the enemy shinobi long to figure that out. Unfortunately, as Harry soon discovered, Naruto more than lived up to his loud-mouthed reputation.

"Tch, Kakashi-sensei! I am not a brat and I won't let those idiots call me one!" declared Naruto obnoxiously.

"Loud aren't you?" complained a slim ninja to the brutish one's right. "And irritating," added another.

Naruto remained unmoved though and the complaints only made him grin wider.

"What do you want?" cut in Kakashi before Naruto could continue.

"Nothing much _oh great Copy Nin_," replied the brute. "My men and I are bored though. It's been a long time since we've had such a wonderful challenge present itself. Just thinking about fighting you is making my blood boil with excitement!"

The other shinobi grinned, their gazes' hungry with blood lust. Harry felt his chest tightening in panic. Death Eaters were terrifying, sure but something about these men told Harry they'd do worse then try to Avada Kevada him. That was over in a moment but fighting someone with a sword meant being cut and dying much more slowly. Harry hadn't forgotten the last few times he'd been stabbed and he certainly didn't want to be again!

Harry did his best to keep his face blank and his hands steady but it was hard. The moment one of those shinobi made a move he knew the next few moments of his life would be down to reflex alone.

"Bored?" replied Kakashi dryly. "I doubt it. Missing nin love a good fight but missing nin love a bounty even better. I bet you'd love the one on my head. You look like none of you have eaten well in awhile and desperate men will do anything, including take on someone way out of their league."

"Big words," sneered the brute. He covered it well but even Harry could tell Kakashi had hit the nail on the head. All the nin were filthy and there was definitely a glimmer of desperation in their eyes; something only their leader seemed able to hide. Harry wondered though, why Kakashi had a bounty on his head. The thought on the other hand, hardly lasted more than half a second.

"However, there's six of us and only four of you and of those four, three of them are probably only chuunin at best," continued the brute.

"Your eyes don't see very well, do they?" mocked Naruto. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto and one day I'll be the Hokage! You better watch yourselves you punks because I'm gonna kick your arses! Believe it!"

The statement had come out of nowhere and Harry forgot his panic for a moment as he stared disbelievingly at Naruto. What a stupid thing to say! It sounded like something only Malfoy would proclaim at his most arrogant.

"Watch out!" cried Sakura.

The warning barely came in time but Harry heard it and reacted immediately. He flung himself backwards as one of the shinobi swiped at him with a sword. The blade missed his foot by only a few inches and only reflex allowed Harry to dodge the second and third swings and then Kakashi was there.

In his peripheral vision Harry noticed the other five shinobi attacking Naruto and Sakura. Two peeled away and came for him and Kakashi while the older ninja defended himself and Harry.

Kakashi dodged swiftly, caught the attacking shinobi's arm and with a loud crack, broke it. The shinobi bit off a loud scream and spat a vicious curse at Kakashi.

His heart pounding, Harry starred from behind Kakashi as the two other shinobi who'd broken away from attacking Naruto and Sakura arrived to engage. The first moved back to strap his broken arm. Kakashi held both the newcomers off though: swiping and stabbing at his opponents.

He was good but Harry was no fool. He knew one of the other shinobi would eventually avoid Kakashi and come around him to strike at Harry. At that moment, Harry knew he had to be prepared to defend himself. He couldn't use chakra and he couldn't use magic but Sasuke's body was quick and he had the reflexes of a Quidditch Seeker. That would have to be enough for the time being.

Harry had only ever fought with one other weapon before beside his wand and that had been a sword. Without a second though, he threw off his pack, opened it and pulled out Sasuke's sword. There wasn't a guard on the hilt, which Harry didn't particularly like but it would have to do.

He ripped off the sheath and gripped the handle with both hands; prepared for the moment he'd have to fight and fight he would. Harry wasn't a killer but if it was a choice between himself and the other guy, he'd defend himself for as long as he could.

That moment came far quicker than Harry thought it would. Naruto and Sakura had already taken down an opponent each but the last one (the leader), hurled Naruto into Sakura and then faster than should have been possible, was around Kakashi and coming for Harry.

He thought Sakura and Naruto would follow but they remained where they were, fighting and kicking at thin air. A glimpse of the shinobi with the broken arm crouched in the foliage made Harry realise they were only fighting an illusion. Any thought of breaking it though, was put to one side as the leader swung from overhead at Harry's head.

He clumsily caught the stroke on his own blade and the two blades slid apart with a harsh screech as Harry stumbled sideways. The brute swung horizontally, as fast as a striking snake at Harry's side. He moved frantically out of the way and was rewarded with a shallow gash across his left flank as opposed to instant death. Any slower and he would have been sliced clean in half.

Harry's panicking mind wondered where Kakashi was but he didn't dare look away from the brute. Sweat made his grip on the sword precarious and he knew he looked terrified. The leader saw that fear and sneered at him.

"You're gonna die boy, one way or another," he taunted.

Harry believed him but he didn't dare put down the sword. He was a Gryffindor and he'd fight till the end. That was the way you did it in Gryffindor.

The brute lunged at him and Harry awkwardly countered. He swung again and Harry barely maintained his grip on the sword when the brute cut a thin line across his knuckles. It stung like hell but he didn't dare let go.

The brute came again and again and again. Harry suffered cut after cut. By the time he reached the sixth across his right side this time, he knew he was being toyed with.

Hw wanted to retaliate, he wanted to live! But he was too slow! He couldn't seem to move any faster. He couldn't see the moves coming and he knew the brute would tire of playing with him soon. When he did, Harry would die.

That moment came with the next blow.

Harry saw it coming, knew he possibly couldn't move aside and then suddenly everything seemed to slow down. It was as if he was watching one of Dudley's movies with a slow motion scene.

The blade was coming and not really thinking about it, Harry twisted his body to avoid its path. He brought Sasuke's sword down and the brute's arm went sailing through the air.

Hot, red blood splattered against his face, shocking him and then Kakashi was finally there, between him and the brute.

Harry didn't see what happened. He was frozen, his gaze locked on the bloody sword in his hand. He heard a soft gasp as Kakashi stabbed the leader and he flinched. Sasuke's blade landed in the dust at his feet.

Harry could only stare at his shaking, bloody hands. He'd just cut off a man's arm; he'd just heard the man die at Kakashi's hands!

He'd seen Cedric die, he'd looked death in the face but he'd never actually been this close to it before. He'd never had a hand in it. He'd cut off a man's arm! He was no better than Voldermort when Wormtail had cut off his own arm for his master!

He felt nauseous, he wanted to be sick.

Some part of him realised Naruto and Sakura had broken out of the illusion and taken care of the shinobi who'd created it. That was when Harry saw it.

Kakashi had knocked down both his opponents but he'd failed to kill them. One was most definitely dead but the other was only wounded. He leapt up and made straight for Naruto's turned back.

Acting on adrenaline alone, Harry lunged at him, caught his legs and suddenly the edge of the cliff was looming before them and then they were falling; tumbling end over end off the top of the canyon.

Naruto's stunned eyes flashed in Harry's mind.

Someone screamed.

Harry let go of the other shinobi and by the time he hit the water far below, he'd completely succumbed to fear and lost consciousness, perfectly sure that he was going to die.

0-0-0-0-0-0

When Harry came to his first thought was that he was getting rather tired of waking from unconsciousness. His second was more along the lines of where the hell had the pain in his left arm and the smarting ache all along his back come from?

He tried to lift his head and reacted with a moan of pain. The movement had sent agony down his back and his arm was one giant pulse of soreness. He also noticed in that moment that he was soaking wet.

Moving very slowly and gingerly, Harry managed to push himself off his stomach after several minutes and carefully manoeuvred himself so that he was kneeling in the gritty sand, albeit a little unsteadily.

He glanced around him, noting the river flowing swiftly in front of him and the lack of canyon. It seemed he'd been swept some distance downstream although how far, he didn't know. The sun beat steadily down upon him. He squinted at it. It felt like mid afternoon although it could be later. It was hard to tell in the Land of Fire.

Harry turned at the sound of the wind through the trees at his back. The forest pressed in only a few metres from him and lying just behind him, flat on his back, was Naruto.

It took Harry's foggy mind a moment to process that fact and when he did, his mouth dropped open in surprise.

Naruto looked fine, although a little wet. At first Harry assumed he was unconscious but that presumption was denied when Naruto suddenly let out a soft snore and rolled over onto his side.

To his surprise, Harry laughed. It was loud and long and it woke Naruto but even when the blonde boy sat up and blinked groggily at him, Harry didn't stop.

"I must be dreaming," muttered Naruto and then flopped back onto his back. "Sasuke never laughs. It's all a figment of my imagination."

Harry laughed harder at that statement but was forced to hastily cut off his laughing when he leant a little too much on his left arm and pain shot up the injured limb.

"Ow," he muttered, pulling his arm closer to his chest. Pulling up the sleeve of his T-shirt to see his shoulder, he took in the mottled collection of black and purple bruises. It looked nasty and it ached but after a few careful pokes, he determined it'd be fine. At least it wasn't broken.

He inspected what other wounds he could see while he was at it. The cuts he'd sustained from the missing nin were all nasty looking but surprisingly shallow. The water had washed off all the excess blood and they were already beginning to scab over. Only the first blow to his left side wasn't. It was a little deeper but it'd stopped bleeding for now. He couldn't see his back though and that was where the real pain was.

"Hey Naruto, how's my back look?" asked Harry.

"Huh?" asked Naruto, picking his head up enough to see Harry.

"I said how's my back look?" repeated Harry.

Naruto hesitated, looking unsure and Harry sighed in exasperation.

"I'm Harry, remember? You're not dreaming."

"Oh yeah," answered Naruto and finally got up and came over. "Sorry," he muttered with a sheepish chuckle. "I thought I was dreaming when I saw you laughing."

"Sasuke doesn't laugh much then?" guessed Harry. He hissed as Naruto pulled his shirt away from his back.

"Laugh?" asked Naruto incredulously. "Bastard barely even smiles. I've never heard him laugh. He kinda didn't have a lot to laugh at though and he's a serious kind of guy anyway. Man, this looks nasty."

"You think?" muttered Harry, gritting his teeth. His back was stinging like buggery. "What's it look like?"

"Grazes, bad ones," admitted Naruto letting Harry's wet shirt fall back into place. "Your whole back's torn up pretty bad and your shirt's in pieces. Sakura-chan will fix you up good though when we see her."

"What happened?" asked Harry.

Naruto came around to Harry's other side and sat down on a small rock. He shrugged and replied, "I went in after you. It was awhile before I caught up with you though. You'd kind of already done your back and arm by the time I got to you."

Naruto trailed off and began to fidget before looking away from Harry. "Thanks, for saving me I mean."

"Thanks for saving me too," murmured Harry awkwardly. "We're square then."

Naruto looked at Harry and smiled tentatively. Harry smiled back.

"You didn't have to fight you know but you were pretty cool," remarked Naruto.

Harry laughed a little. "Call it my hero complex. My friend Ron reckons I've got it bad."

"You ever fight with a sword before?" asked Naruto.

"Only once," admitted Harry. "And that was to kill a giant snake."

"A giant snake!" gasped Naruto.

"Yeah," replied Harry, surprised by Naruto's startled reaction. "About 100ft long. Couldn't look the damn thing in the eyes though. It could kill just by looking at you and its fangs were highly toxic. I was lucky Fawkes blinded it and healed me when the thing tried to bite my arm off."

"That's crazy," replied Naruto. "And what's that word Sakura-chan always uses?" Naruto rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a moment and then his eyes lit up as he remembered. "Oh yeah! Ironic! Me and Sasuke fought a giant snake once too. We were twelve. You know, it was that slimy arsehole, Orochimaru's snake."

Harry grimaced. That was the second similarity he could chalk up between Orochimaru and Voldermort: long, villain-like sounding names and a fondness for snakes. Just perfect.

"So what do we do now?" asked Harry.

Naruto's face dropped. He scowled moodily. "How should I know? It ain't my fault we're here."

"W-what?" spluttered Harry. "_You're_ the dumbarse that wasn't watching his back!"

"Watch it bastard!" snapped back Naruto. "I knew he was there."

"Sure," retorted Harry sarcastically. He snorted derisively and looked away from Naruto.

"Arrogant," grumbled Naruto under his breath.

Harry clenched his teeth and somehow managed to refrain from replying. He was quickly beginning to learn Naruto was a pain to deal with.

Sure, the shinobi was apparently nicer than most and he was definitely more open. He wore his heart on his sleeve but he was also rude and didn't think before he opened his big mouth. Harry had to hand it to him: Ron sure knew how to put his foot in it but Naruto took the cake hands down.

"I guess we should head back up river. We'll probably find Sakura-chan and Kakashi-sensei eventually," Naruto grudgingly suggested after awhile.

Harry grunted and that was all the answer he offered. Gritting his teeth, he stood up, hoping Naruto hadn't seen his pained expression. He didn't particularly want that idiot's help right now.

Naruto was looking though and when Harry saw the slightest hint of regret in his eyes, he scowled ferociously at him and Naruto glowered back and turned away.

_Good _thought Harry nastily. At least he felt sorry for what he'd said.

They walked back along the sandy river shore. The warm sun gradually dried their clothes but they were still damp by the time dusk fell.

Both of them pressed on, refusing to call a halt. Harry was discovering a stubborn streak he never knew he had and also a thirst to prove himself to the other boy.

Naruto was hard to get along with but for some reason Harry didn't particularly like the thought of being looked down upon by Naruto. He'd felt completely useless and out of his depth ever since he'd landed himself in this mess and he didn't like it. Granted, he didn't have much control over his life back home but at least there were some things he did. Here though, there was nothing and even if it wasn't much, Harry wanted some control back.

There was also however, a third reason why Harry didn't stop and it was the reason why his attention was focused on his churning stomach instead of his smarting back.

His fight with the brutish shinobi occupied his attention as he trudged along behind Naruto. He wasn't so much scared of it any more but more the thought that he was capable of violence, indeed, capable of killing another human being. That was the one thing that separated him from Voldermort and he secretly clung to that notion.

They already shared too many similarities and Harry didn't want to become any more like the man who'd murdered his parents. How he'd managed to dodge that killing stroke and cut off the man's arm was beyond him. The others might know or have theories but Harry decided to keep the thought to himself for now.

He was so wrapped up in his thoughts he failed to see the large tree root in his path. He tripped and landed hard on his bruised arm. Pain rocketed up his injured limb and he struggled to muffle several choice curses.

"Oi, you alright?" inquired Naruto.

The blonde had stopped a little ahead of him and was half turned towards Harry in the gloom. It was hard to tell if Naruto sounded concerned or not but eventually Harry decided he didn't really care.

"Fine," grunted Harry as he stood up again.

"We'll make camp here," decided Naruto.

Harry guessed he hadn't been believed then and that was all right with him. He'd lied anyway. His arm really was hurting from that little fall.

There wasn't much to do other than build a fire and set up a small lean-to to block off the gentle breeze that had sprung up from the south. Naruto did both jobs since Harry's injuries were still too raw to allow him to do much of anything.

They both hunkered down by the flames once Naruto had finished and stared into them quietly. They had no gear for hunting other than a few small weapons Naruto still had on him but it was dark and not really worth the effort so they mutually agreed not to bother. They'd have something to eat when they met up with Kakashi and Sakura tomorrow – if they did at all Harry thought silently in the privacy of his own mind.

After awhile, Harry was almost startled off his log when Naruto suddenly spoke.

"In the academy I was the dead last. All the other kids hated me and the teachers even more," he said softly. "I used to pull pranks on them, try to get their attention. I'm an orphan and back then I was kind of lonely. Sasuke didn't know it but I sought of looked to him. He was the only other orphan I knew but he was so different from me."

Naruto smiled fondly into the flames, his eyes lost in memory.

"I hated him. He was the best in the class. He was cold, focused and he never smiled: just like a true shinobi. And then I somehow miraculously passed the Genin Exams and got put on the same team as him. I hated him even more in that moment and he finally noticed me enough to hate me too. I was like an insult to him. How dare anyone saddle him with the dead last of the class on the same team!"

Naruto laughed, a disbelieving laugh but also a slightly bitter one.

"I don't know how but we became rivals from that point on. I yelled at him and insulted him and mocked him. He mostly ignored me or hit me but he usually just insulted me right back. I kind of think all that time he spent brooding in class he was actually thinking up insults. He's a clever bastard. I can't beat him when it comes to hurling stuff at one another. He knows all the right buttons to push. And then one day after all that fighting we finally get this mission, the one I've been bugging old man Hokage about for weeks. It's a first C ranked mission – way better than all those stupid D ranked ones we had to keep doing like painting fences, raking leaves and chasing stupid cats that try to claw my face off. It started off well but then everything just went to hell. Sasuke showed me up every step of the way on that mission and I was madder than ever at him. And then the bastard goes and does a stupid thing like just about dying on me to save my dumb arse."

Naruto sighed and it was such a deep and heavy sigh. Harry had never heard anything like it. There was an incredible amount of regret and longing in that simple sound.

"We were friends after that," said Naruto morosely, his eyes fixed on the flames still. "I miss him every day. I don't really get why he left, why his revenge was so important. He had us and I thought we would be enough, you know?"

Finally Naruto looked at Harry. He wore a simple expression: an open and honest one. Naruto didn't seem like the type of person that should have come a shinobi Harry realised as he looked at him. Naruto was too kind and too honest, just like him he suddenly realised. For some reason though, Naruto had chosen this path of blood shed though while Harry had had his thrust upon him. He wondered where it would take both of them in the end but for the time being he couldn't foresee that.

"He was the first person to look at me. I want to become Hokage so people will acknowledge me instead of ignoring me like they did before I became a shinobi," said Naruto. "It took me awhile to notice it but Sasuke acknowledged me a long time before I did him. I guess I just didn't see it."

Naruto fell silent.

Harry wasn't sure what he should say, if anything at all but after that little confession he felt he should.

So he said, "I'm an orphan too you know. My family was murdered, just like Sasuke's. I grew up with my Mum's sister and her family and they hated me."

Naruto's head jerked up, a little surprised by Harry's admission.

"But I went to Hogwarts and I met Ron and Hermione who are a lot like you and Sakura. I've never sought revenge," admitted Harry, "but I hate Voldermort all the same. I can't say why Sasuke left but I'll bet it was because he didn't want to involve you. I think the same way. I don't think I could stand it if something happened to Ron and Hermione."

"Yeah, maybe," acknowledged Naruto but there was something in Naruto's smile that was too sad. Apparently he didn't think that was true.

"Well, night then," Harry muttered, awkwardly letting it go. He lay down with his back to the fire and after a moment, he heard a shuffle behind him as Naruto lay down too.

It was a long time before he fell asleep.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Well there you go! Felt like I'd been neglecting Harry so this whole chapter got devoted to him and developing his relationship with Naruto. Hope you enjoyed and I'd be much obliged if you'd leave me a little review. ^_-

Next chapter it's all Sasuke!


	9. Gryffindor vs Slytherin

**Chapter Nine **

**Gryffindor vs. Slytherin **

From what he knew of Malfoy, Sasuke had been fairly certain that the blond teenager would bring Snape down of him like a tonne of bricks after their encounter down in the dungeons.

Malfoy however, had done nothing. All Sasuke could garner from him during careful observations of him in class, was that the other boy was understandably furious but not inclined to do anything about the incident...at least not yet. Sasuke had thought a lot about Malfoy since the encounter down in the dungeons. Malfoy was obviously cleverer than he let on and was hiding that fact, even from his fellow Slytherins. Sasuke might have investigated further but for the time being, there were more pressing matters to attend to and finding out what thoughts really lurked behind those cool, grey eyes was somewhere at the bottom of his priorities.

For the remainder of the weekend, Sasuke pondered what he should do about Sirius Black. He wouldn't admit it to himself but he was definitely desperate to learn some high level magic. His vulnerability made him snappish and he flinched any time someone raised their voice even a little if they were within five metres of him. He hated the entire situation and his nightmares were only becoming more common as the days went by. He'd lost so much sleep Dean Thomas had even told him one morning that he looked like the living dead.

Ron and Hermione had given him the basic history of the ex-convict but there were certain details he realised they would have overlooked, not knowing their importance or some facts that simply weren't known to them in the first place. Sasuke spent nearly all of his Sunday in the library researching Black. It was difficult to find what he was looking for and the librarian kept shooting him suspicious looks. He trawled through several dozen books before discovering a small section hidden away in the back of the library containing thousands of issues of the wizard community's newspaper, the Daily Prophet. These had proved to be far more helpful. The books had listed little information other than Black's involvement in the murder of James and Lily Potter. The newspapers however, covered everything from Black's days creating mischief in Hogwarts with his best friend, James Potter; all the way through to conspiracy theories surrounding his imprisonment in Azkaban, the infamous wizard prison.

From the newspapers, Sasuke learned that as he had expected, Black was battle trained. The Aurors were the Wizarding world's elite fighters and their last line of defence. Black had been trained under the direct command of Sir Richard Sinclair, who'd commanded the Auror forces against Grindelwald in the previous wizard war. Sasuke was surprised to learn that Albus Dumbledore had duelled and defeated Grindelwald. He tucked that particular piece of information away carefully for now.

After completely his training, Black had been turned over to Alastair Moody's department. The man was a famous dark wizard catcher, commonly known for his eccentricities and often unfounded suspicious. Sasuke wasn't surprised to learn he'd been nicknamed 'Mad Eye' because of the unusual magical eye that had replaced the one he'd lost in a previous battle.

Black's record had also shown a lot of promise. He'd graduated to the surprise of many, at the top of his class and made sixteen arrests alone in his first year under Mad Eye. Black was clever and had the reflexes of a cat. He was also however, noted to be reckless and only dumb luck seemed to have kept him alive. Sasuke took that comment with a grain of salt. It was never a good idea to be reckless in the shinobi world either but you also had to know when to risk it. Black clearly knew that which only made him far more promising to Sasuke as a trainer.

By the end of the weekend as Sasuke climbed into bed and pulled up the covers, he'd decided Black was the one. Black had been out of practice for a long time but he was also the only Auror Sasuke had a chance in hell with that would agree to teach him high level magic. Black clearly didn't like him and there would be complications that would need to be dealt with if they were to find a suitable place to come together and train without being observed but Sasuke was determined to make it happen.

When the following morning arrived however, Sasuke's plans were firmly pushed to the back of his mind.

0-0-0-0-0-0

It was with visibly great relief, that Angelina Johnson informed Sasuke, Ron and Hermione on Monday morning, that Umbridge had grudgingly given her permission for the Gryffindor Quidditch team to be reformed.

"I expect you both down at the Quidditch pitch straight after lessons are over today," Angelina told them briskly. "We've got a lot of ground to make up if we want to beat Slytherin." With one final glare that promised retribution if either failed to be there, Angelina whirled around and rushed off. In her wake, Sasuke slowly set down his fork, a funny feeling forming in the pit of his stomach.

He hadn't given much thought to Quidditch lately. He knew from his couple of practices that he'd do all right at it. The snitch was difficult to see, especially without his Sharingan but he'd played well in his few practices according to Hermione.

If he'd played so well though, his mind reasoned, then why did he have a nervous case of butterflies in the pit of his stomach? Sasuke didn't know but he put it down to the fact that Quidditch was a competition and he always took competitions rather seriously. It was a chance to show off his skill and test himself against an opponent.

"Hey Harry?"

Sasuke glanced up. Hermione was looking at him, a tentative expression on her face.

"What is it?" he asked calmly.

Hermione leaned in, nervously looking from left to write before back at him. Obliging her, Sasuke leaned in too so that their faces were only inches apart.

"We need to find somewhere to hold our defence lessons. The others are pressuring me about it," said Hermione in a low voice.

"Well what do you expect me to do about it?" asked Sasuke, the slightest hint of irritation creeping into his voice despite his best efforts.

"Nothing," replied Hermione. "Ron and I are looking into it and we'll find something eventually. I just thought you should know so that you're not caught out if the others ask you, ok?"

Hermione leaned back and abruptly changed the subject. "So, the first Quidditch match is this weekend. You and Ron will have a lot to work on I expect."

"A lot?" moaned Ron, whom Sasuke noticed, looked rather pale all of a sudden. "We'll never be ready. I'll be a complete failure! We might as well hand the snitch to the Slytherins right now."

The remark caught Sasuke a little off guard and he responded before he even realised it. "Then you're a fool," he said coolly. "If you're not even going to try than Angelina was mistaken when she appointed you as the Gryffindor Keeper. You didn't get the position just because your brothers are on the team you know."

Sasuke stood up and picked up his bag. "I don't like playing with losers who are too stupid to see their own worth." With that final statement, he left his two surprised housemates and headed to class.

0-0-0-0-0-0

After the day's lessons were over, Sasuke and Ron retrieved their Quidditch gear from the Gryffindor dorms and then left for practice. They walked down to the pitch in near silence. Ron had been quiet most of the day and Sasuke could see the other boy had been thinking deeply. About what, Sasuke wasn't sure but it wouldn't surprise him if it had been about the upcoming Quidditch match.

It was started raining and was freezing cold by the time they arrived. Running a hand through his dripping hair, Sasuke slicked the messy strands back as best he could but some still fell forward and dangled in his eyes. Thanks to Hermione's spell on Harry's glasses, he could see well enough but it might as well not have mattered in the gloom around them.

They trooped into the change rooms where the other Gryffindor players were getting ready. Fred and George greeted them half-heartedly. They didn't want to be playing in the rain any more than the rest of them it appeared.

Sasuke found Harry's Quidditch robes in a locker marked with his name and quickly donned them. He'd never worn much red before and the colour made him feel like a sitting duck. He reminded himself though that he wasn't a shinobi at the moment nor was he in danger of becoming a living target.

He bent to pick up his broom and follow the others who'd already headed outside when a stinging pain suddenly exploded in his forehead. Sasuke staggered and almost fell before he caught himself against one of the lockers.

The pain continued, pulsating throughout his head as a strange feeling of anger swept through him. He was immensely upset about something, furious even!

It took Sasuke's muddled mind several seconds to catch up though and realise the feelings he was experiencing weren't even his own. It was someone else. Someone else who was _very _upset about something.

As abruptly as it had come, the pain was suddenly gone, leaving Sasuke panting softly as he kneeled on the change room floor.

Getting to his feet, he staggered over to the basin and turned on the tap, feeling dizzy and disorientated. He cupped his hands under the deluge and splashed a good deal of water on his face. The cold liquid seemed to clear some of the grogginess in his head. Sasuke looked up and stared into the unfamiliar green eyes of Harry Potter in the mirror above the sink.

He sighed after awhile. He didn't know what that had been but he assumed it was probably something magical and it definitely had something to do with the livid, red scar Potter bore on his forehead shaped like a lightning bolt.

Sasuke traced the mark with his fingers but there was no pain there now. It didn't matter he decided eventually. So long as it never got any worse he'd just leave it alone for now.

0-0-0-0-0-0

The rest of the week flew by in a blur of activity. If Sasuke wasn't in classes he was on the Quidditch pitch and if he wasn't there, then he was in the dorms doing homework.

Despite Sasuke's words earlier in the week, Ron got steadily more and more nervous and the Slytherins knew it. They harassed Ron and Sasuke whenever they could. The insults bounced rather harmlessly off Sasuke. He'd heard far worse but Ron got quieter and quieter after each one until he began spending most of his time avoiding the Slytherins, his head down as he hurried from class to class.

It was a startling change from the fiery personality Sasuke had come to associate with Ron. Naruto would never have been cowed by an insult Sasuke found himself thinking. Naruto had dealt with them his whole life and Sasuke supposed that at one point, the Kyuubi holder had simply decided he no longer cared about what others thought of him. Ron though, didn't appear to have suffered enough to get to that point. Sasuke found it exceedingly annoying but chose not to say anything about it. It was hardly his problem if Ron couldn't deal with a few petty comments.

The day of the Quidditch match dawned bright and clear. The sky was a uniform shade of white cloud which meant low level glare and there was little wind: perfect conditions for a Quidditch match.

Hermione warned him at breakfast not to let Ron see the badges the Slytherins were sporting. Sasuke had already seen them earlier and knew that they read:

_Weasley is our King_

Despite Hermione's warning, Sasuke soon realised he didn't need to worry about Ron seeing them. Ron was much too distracted to stuff his face at breakfast like he usually did, let alone notice a few ridiculous badges. Knowing the Slytherins, they'd probably made up some stupid catcall or song to go with it.

Eventually, Sasuke gave up on waiting for Ron to eat something and dragged him outside and down to the Quidditch pitch. Other students were already making their way down ahead of them. Ron was silent as they walked, not at all noticing the slight tenseness in Sasuke's movements. He wouldn't admit it out loud to either Ron or Hermione, let alone himself but Sasuke was really looking forward to the game. Flying on a broom was an unbelievable feeling but testing himself against an opposing team was something he was_ really_ looking forward to. His stomach seemed to have knotted itself into a small ball of anticipation and he couldn't wait to get up in the air.

They arrived finally and filed into the Gryffindor change rooms. The rest of the team was already there and Angelina had begun her pre-match pep talk. Ron and Sasuke changed quickly although Ron kept putting his robes on backwards before Angelina finally took pity on him and helped him put them on the right way.

"OK, I've just found out the line-up for Slytherin," said Angelina, consulting a piece of parchment as Ron and Sasuke finally took a seat. Outside the buzz of the crowd steadily began to grow louder as the stadium filled with students. "Last year's Beaters, Derrick and Bole, have left but it looks as though Montague's replaced them with the usual gorillas, rather than anyone who can fly particularly well. They're two blokes called Crabbe and Goyle, I don't know much about them - '

"We do," said Ron glumly. Sasuke made small noise of agreement.

"Well, they don't look bright enough to tell one end of a broom from another," said Angelina, pocketing her parchment, "but then I was always surprised Derrick and Bole managed to find their way onto the pitch without signposts."

"Crabbe and Goyle are about of the same calibre," Sasuke confirmed.

"Right, well then," said Angelina. "It's time. Come on everyone...good luck."

The team rose, shouldered their brooms and marched in single file out into the dazzling sunlight. The roar of the crowd washed over Sasuke as they emerged from the gloom. The noise was deafening and he found himself uncomfortably reminded of the Chuunin Exams. It was really the only situation he could compare it to.

"Alright, Captains, shake hands," ordered the referee, a small, eagle eyed woman Sasuke had come to know as Madam Hooch, as the two teams gathered around her in the middle of the pitch. Under Madam Hooch's instruction, Angelina and Montague reached out and shook hands. It was obvious Montague was trying to crush Angelina's fingers but to Sasuke's quiet approval, the Gryffindor Captain didn't flinch.

He looked over at the Slytherin team. Montague, Crabbe and Goyle were big and heavy while the three Chasers were small and almost quite reedy. Only Malfoy looked like a decent player. He was slim but compact and probably more intelligent than the rest of the Slytherin team put together. Sasuke also knew Malfoy was the team's Seeker and that would be the deciding factor in who would win this match. Sasuke expected the Slytherins to use dirty, underhanded tactics to try and win but catching the snitch was what really counted and Malfoy was in all likelihood, more that capable of matching Harry. Though Malfoy didn't know it, it would be Sasuke that he would play against today and even if Sasuke considered himself a decent sort of player, he did not have experience on his side.

It was difficult to predict who would win Sasuke reflected shrewdly. Gryffindor was the fitter side and would probably outscore Slytherin easily with the quaffle but Sasuke still had to catch the snitch to ensure their victory. It was going to be a very close game in the end and he couldn't wait to get started. He could almost taste the adrenaline already.

"Mount your brooms,' instructed Madam Hooch. The two teams complied. There was a sharp blast as the referee blew the whistle and then they were in the air. Ron shot off like a rocket to the other end of the pitch to guard the goal hoops while Sasuke soared high up into the air and began circling the pitch in a large loop, his eyes straining for a glint of gold.

"And it's Johnson – Johnson with the quaffle, what a player that girl is, I've been saying it for years but she still won't go out with me – "

"JORDAN!" yelled Professor McGonagall.

" – just a fun fact Professor, adds a bit of interest – and she's ducked Warrington, she's passed Montague, she's – ouch – been hit from behind by a bludger from Crabbe ... Montague catches the quaffle, Montague heading back up the pitch and – nice bludger there from George Weasley, that's a bludger to the head for Montague, he drops the quaffle, caught by Katie Bell, Katie Bell of Gryffindor reverse-passes to Alicia Spinnet and Spinnet's away – "

And so it went on. Sasuke roved from one end of the pitch to the other, eyes peeled for any sign of the snitch while Malfoy did the same up the opposite end of the field. He completely ignored the rest of the play, not caring if Gryffindor were up or down. If he found the snitch, he won the game and if he did it quickly, the 150 bonus points would more than cover any difference in the score between the two sides.

Lee Jordan, a good friend of Ron's elder twin brothers (who also happened to be Beaters for the Gryffindor team), communicated a continuous stream of chatter as the quaffle was passed from one end of the pitch to the other. It's was shamelessly in favour of the Gryffindor side but Sasuke paid it no attention, his eyes sweeping the skies instead.

" – dodges Warrington, avoids a bludger – close call Alicia – and the crowd are loving this, just listen to them, what's that they're singing?"

Jordan fell silent for a moment and the noise of the crowd swelled to fill his pause.

"_Weasley cannot save a thing, _

_He cannot block a single ring, _

_That's why Slytherins all sing:_

_Weasley is our King. _

_Weasley was born in a bin, _

_He always lets the quaffle in, _

_Weasley will make sure we win, _

_Weasley is our King." _

Even high above the pitch, the lyrics of the rhyme reached Sasuke. Cursing, he shot Malfoy a vicious look, certain the song was the blond Slytherin's doing as it began a second time. Catching his glare, Malfoy spared a moment to smirk back and rather venomously, Sasuke cursed again.

There was no possible way Ron would be unaffected by the poor spirited chant. When Sasuke spared a look towards the Gryffindor keeper, Ron was sitting rigidly astride his broom, his positing before the goal hoops all wrong despite weeks of practice. Jordan tried futilely to drown out the sound of the singing with his commentary but it was a lost cause.

With some difficultly, Sasuke forced himself not to stop and look, as he continued circling the pitch with a rather angry drive to his pace now. He listened with half an ear to Jordan's commentary as the Slytherins took possession of the quaffle and worked it towards their scoring end.

" – so it's the first test for new Gryffindor Keeper Weasley, brother of Beaters Fred and George and a promising new talent on the team – come on Ron!"

Sasuke didn't see what happened (too busy looking for the snitch) but he could guess by the delighted scream from the Slytherin end.

"Slytherin score!" said Jordan loudly but in a somewhat disappointed tone amid the cheering and booing from the crowds below. "So that's ten-nil to Slytherin – bad luck Ron."

Delirious with their success, the Slytherins vindictively kept up their chant, singing it over and over until it felt like it'd been burned into Sasuke's brain. He ignored them and Malfoy who was leering at him across the pitch as he continued searching. Still listening to Jordan, he heard when Slytherin scored again and again and then a fourth time. Every time Ron missed a goal the Slytherins only got louder, delighted with Ron's loss of composure under their onslaught.

Finally, Angelina scored, bringing the score total to Gryffindor 10 – Slytherin 40. In celebration, she dive bombed the Slytherin stands on her way past, sending bull-faced Pansy Parkinson (who'd been conducting the Slytherins rather gleefully) diving for cover.

The Slytherins booed loudly and screamed insults after her but finally, it no longer mattered: Sasuke had seen the snitch.

He shot a quick glance at Malfoy on the other side of the pitch and he happened to be looking in Sasuke's direction so Sasuke knew he'd be seen the moment he made a move. Knowing the Firebolt was supposably the fastest broom in the school though, Sasuke decided to trust in its speed and angled his broom towards the snitch and then willed it to shoot forwards. The broom responded instantly, as it had been made to and Sasuke flattened himself against the handle, feeling the press of the wind against his body.

As if sensing him coming, the snitch fluttered away, out towards the middle of the pitch. He raced after it and then there was Malfoy, coming from the opposite direction. Caught between the two players, the snitch abruptly changed direction. Sasuke swerved left and thankfully Malfoy swerved right, just in the nick of time to avoid a collision. Sasuke pulled the Firebolt around viciously and shot after the snitch again, Malfoy half a length behind him.

The barrelled around players, dodged bludgers and there was quite a lot of vicious shoving and jabbing with their elbows going on. Malfoy managed to cork Sasuke's arm which made it feel slightly numb but in the next second, Sasuke brought an experienced elbow up, under the Slytherin's guard and into his chest. Malfoy gasped and moved a good meter away from Sasuke. The blow had hurt and apparently winded him a bit too if Malfoy's deep gasps were anything to go on.

They ducked around Montague who let loose a loud oath of surprise. Katie Bell swooped; using the distraction Malfoy and Sasuke had created to steal the quaffle from him. Fred Weasley aimed a bludger at Malfoy as he passed but missed and almost hit Sasuke instead.

Coming up towards the Slytherin end of the pitch, they gradually gained on the snitch. Apparently somewhat recovered, Malfoy abruptly returned by crashing into Sasuke's side. Momentarily jolted, it took Sasuke a moment to recover but they were close now, mere feet from the snitch so Sasuke risked stretching out a hand, fingers straining for the tiny ball. His reach was just that little bit longer than Malfoy's and with a sharp feeling of triumph, his fingers closed around the golden sphere. Malfoy scrabbled desperately at the back of his hand but it was too late.

And that was when Sasuke saw Ron.

Cursing, Malfoy spun away but Sasuke was on a direct collision course with the Gryffindor keeper who'd been guarding the goal posts. Ron saw him coming. After a moment of stunned surprise, Ron rolled at the last second so he was hanging underneath his broom. Sasuke had enough leeway to wrench his Firebolt upwards and over Ron as he dangled from his broom but unfortunately, he couldn't quite avoid the goal hoops.

The handle of his broom hooked the top of the ring and like a lever; the back-end jack-knifed up and smacked Sasuke in the small of his back. Catapulted forwards, Sasuke flew in an arch, high into the air. The stands where a crowd of Ravenclaws were sitting flew up to meet him but all of a sudden he was falling, loosing height far too quickly. It was impossible to tell if he'd make it but somehow, as the crowd gasped or alternately screamed in horror; Sasuke's fingers found the railing and closed around it. The rest of his body smacked into the barricade with a dull 'whump!' as he came to a stop.

Sasuke remained still, panting as he dangled from the railing edge but the adrenaline soon faded as Sasuke leaned his head forward and rested it against the cool wood. He breathed a small, grateful sigh of relief. That had been an _extremely_ close call.

A second later, hands were reaching over the railing and grabbing his arms. Working together, two seventh year Ravenclaw boys managed to haul him up and safely into the stands. As his feet touched the wooden floorboards, the vast majority of the crowd broke into loud screams and cheers. Turning, Sasuke looked out at the mass of colour and people shouting as one of the Ravenclaw boys clapped him on the shoulder.

Looking down at his hand, he realised he still held the golden snitch, struggling in his grasp. Raising it high, he showed it to the crowd and the Gryffindor end exploded in loud whoops of delight. Grinning from ear to ear, the Weasley twins came over to the Ravenclaw stand and George offered him a lift back down to the pitch where the rest of the team was gathering.

They joined the Gryffindor side and Sasuke found himself immersed in people hugging him and clapping him on the back. It was all rather disorientating. For a fleeting second he'd thought he might fall but he hadn't and now, still feeling shaky with adrenaline and success, he was being surrounded and congratulated by his fellow Gryffindors.

Only Ron didn't seem to be celebrating. The youngest Weasley boy stood at the edge of the circle, caught between rushing over to make sure Sasuke was alright or alternatively fleeing the pitch. After several moments, he seemed to make up his mind and assured Sasuke would be fine, he turned on heel and hurried away, the back of his neck red with shame.

Just as Ron left hearing range, Malfoy unexpectedly landed immediately near them. The blond Slytherin's face was white with fury but he was still managing to sneer.

"Saved Weasley's neck, haven't you?" Malfoy taunted Sasuke. "I've never seen a worse Keeper ... but then again, he was _born in a bin_ ... did you like my lyrics Potter?"

No, he hadn't but Sasuke didn't deign to answer Malfoy. The Slytherin however, was not discouraged despite being ignored. If anything, being ignored only encouraged him to try harder to gain a reaction.

"We wanted to write another couple of verses but we couldn't find rhymes for _fat and ugly_ – we wanted to sing about his mother, see – "

"Talk about sour grapes," glowered Angelina, who was standing beside Sasuke. She cast Malfoy a withering glare.

" – we couldn't fit in _useless loser_ either – for his father, you know – "

Realising what Malfoy was talking about, Fred and George stiffened and turned around.

"Leave it!" said Angelina at once, grabbing Fred's arm. George had gone white but Fred looked ready to kill Malfoy. "Leave it Fred! He's just a sore loser, the jumped up little – "

" – but you like the Weasleys, don't you Potter?" said Malfoy loudly, cutting across Angelina. "Spend the holidays there and everything, don't you? Can't see how you stand the stink but I suppose when you've been brought up by Muggles, even the Weasleys hovel smells OK – "

If Malfoy thought he was insulting him, he was sorely mistaken. Sasuke had never seen the Weasleys home. For all he knew, Malfoy_ could_ be right. Unlikely, however Sasuke hardly cared for Malfoy's opinion.

George however, did not seem to feel the same way. Face tight with fury, he tried to lunge at Malfoy but Sasuke grabbed his arm and held him back. He grunted with the effort. George was a lot heavier than he was and it was taking all of Sasuke's strength to hold him. In comparison, it was taking the combined might of the Gryffindor team's three Chasers to hold back Fred. In the distance, Sasuke could see Madam Hooch, having noticed the brewing incident, coming up fast but there was still plenty of time for Malfoy to throw a few more insults.

"Or perhaps you can remember what _your_ mother's house stank like Potter and Weasley's pigsty reminds you of it."

Sasuke started. He remembered all right, far too vividly. George stopped fighting as Sasuke's fingers immediately clenched around his arm. Sasuke hardly noticed he was hurting the older boy. It was taking everything he had not to let George go, leap on the little bastard in front of him and pummel him into the ground. The only thing holding him back was pure force of will. Malfoy was beneath him, hardly worth his notice he reminded himself but that didn't make the insult sting any less.

"I remember very well how my home smelt Malfoy," hissed Sasuke. George winced in his hold as Sasuke's fingers tightened a little more around his wrist. "It smelt like spring and the spices she used in her cooking but it also smelt like blood, that horrible tangy scent that turns your stomach, the night she died."

Malfoy looked surprised but only for a moment before the sneer returned.

'Mr Malfoy!" snapped Madam Hooch, who'd finally arrived. "Kindly be on your way."

The blond Slytherin smirked at Sasuke and then turned and sauntered away. Sasuke watched him go.

"Er, Harry?" asked George softly.

Sasuke looked back at the red head boy and remembering himself, released George's arm. The red haired twin winced and rubbed the limb with his other hand.

"Nice grip you got there,' he muttered. "Um, listen, thanks ... for holding me back. I dunno why you didn't kill him. I would have." George reached out and patted Sasuke on the shoulder but Sasuke jerked away.

"Don't touch me!" he snarled. George drew back as if he'd been burnt.

"Geez, sorry Harry," he mumbled, looking a little hurt.

Feeling a tad guilty, Sasuke looked away. He could see Malfoy in the distance. The Slytherin had joined his teammates and was obviously recounting the incident that had just taken place to the Slytherin team. Shooting a disgusted look at his back, Sasuke whirled around and began moving briskly away.

"Harry! Wait!" implored Angelina but Sasuke ignored her.

The game had been wonderful and exhilarating but Malfoy's comments had left a bitter taste in his mouth. Wanting nothing more than solitude, Sasuke ignored his classmates' pleas and headed towards the stadium exit, the weakly struggling snitch still fluttering in his grasp.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Well I thought I'd have space to write another scene but it seems I don't. Hope you all liked it. I think it's a good Christmas pressie. Most of the dialogue from the Quidditch match is pretty much the same as in the book but only because I liked the scene so much. It was a lot of fun to write.

Anyway, Merry Christmas and I'll see you guys in the New Year. ^_-


	10. Anger Issues

**Chapter Ten **

**Anger Issues**

Harry had never been quite so happy to see Sakura before as he was when she and Kakashi found them around late morning the following day. Sleeping on the ground was decidedly not a bright thing to do when covered in cuts and bruises. He'd awoken after a restless sleep, stiff and sore. Walking had certainly been a challenge.

They'd been travelling since first light which was hours ago by now. Harry's injuries were smarting a little and he was tired but otherwise, he was fine. After the previous evening though, he'd found conversation to be a little awkward. Too much had been shared too soon and neither he nor Naruto quite knew where their relationship lay with the other now. They couldn't claim to have become fast friends but neither could they consider themselves distant acquaintances anymore. It was somewhere in between. As a result, the entire morning the conversation between them had been almost non-existent and stilted when it did occur.

He'd been trying to come up with a way to ask Naruto a little more about Sasuke's past when Sakura had appeared. He had the basic facts but hearing something on a more personal level about the other boy would really be more preferable. If he were honest with himself, he was curious about the past of the boy whose body he'd accidentally come to inhabit and probably no closer to understanding what made him tick then he had been after the Fifth had first explained Sasuke's background.

Kakashi greeted Harry quietly as Sakura swept over to Naruto and angrily smacked him.

"Baka!"

"Sakura-chan that hurt!"

"Humph! You deserved it Naruto. You'd think at your level you'd at least know not to turn your back on an enemy."

"I knew he was there Sakura-chan! I would have handled it just fine."

"Yeah, right. You handled it so well a civilian believed the need to intervene on your behalf to protect you. That's 'handling' it right there."

The two continued to bicker for several more minutes – something Harry was coming to realise was their way of greeting one another.

"So, how'd you pull up Sasuke?" asked Kakashi, apparently choosing to ignore his squabbling students.

Harry grimaced, reminded of his injuries. "Fine, nothing too serious."

"Hmm? I've heard that before," remarked Kakashi. Harry looked away awkwardly from the knowing gaze. He'd had worse, surely this wasn't a big deal?

"Ne, Sakura? You mind knocking that off and sorting out Sasuke?" asked Kakashi, raising his voice.

The small group's only girl flushed and released Naruto's jacket - she'd been in the process of shaking him.

"Sorry Kakashi-sensei," she mumbled as she approached Harry.

Twenty minutes later and Harry was finally feeling human again although still a little stiff. When he mentioned this to Sakura she shrugged and replied, "That happens sometimes. It's better to let the body heal naturally then to heal it all the time. I just fixed up the worst of it. It'll pass in a few days." Sakura paused, her expression suddenly growing thoughtful. "Although now that you mention it, there's supposed to be a hot springs resort just the other side of the border. Hey Kakashi-sensei? Can we stop there? It's supposed to be really good."

The only female in their group beamed at their silver-haired leader but there was a certain gleam in her bright eyes that made Harry eye her warily. Kakashi didn't answer immediately, his face expressionless. Sakura was still grinning though so with a sigh, Kakashi replied, "I don't see why not."

"Great!" said Sakura. She shouldered her pack and moved to take the lead. "Shall we get going then?"

* * *

Sasuke thought at first that he wanted nothing more than to be alone after Malfoy had managed to arouse such unpleasant memories of his parents' murder but halfway to who-knew-where he was escaping to, Sasuke drew himself to an abrupt halt. The snitch was still flapping frantically within his grasp and he released it with barely a thought. It was only serving to distract him.

Sasuke felt his blood humming with familiar rage. He was alone in a small corridor and that was something of a blessing. He hardly wanted to deal with the likes of McGonagall if she were to bear witness to what he was about to do. His hand moved with a will of it's own. With a furious yell, Sasuke swept the contents off a nearby table. Crockery and ornaments smashed across the flagstones.

He stood over the shattered mess, breathing heavily. Malfoy didn't realise it but he'd awoken something within Sasuke; a side of himself that had quietly lain dormant while he'd stumbled around trying to make sense of this little dream world he'd fallen into.

"I am an Avenger!" Sasuke growled to himself. The world's felt good. He felt like the hazy fog was lifting and abruptly he was focused once more upon everything that was important; everything that mattered to him.

Footsteps and the chatter of students alerted him to the fact that shortly he would no longer be alone. He hardly cared what anyone thought of what he'd done but an interruption right now would be highly irritating.

He had better things to do; training for a start. His priority for the moment however, as he swiftly left the area, was to find out the progress Snape had made. The Potions Master certainly had a slippery tongue but Orochimaru was far worse. Sasuke had been a little too willing to let Snape fob him off he decided, when he had gone to see him the previous week.

He found Snape already back at his desk in his office despite the fact that barely twenty minutes had passed since the end of the Quidditch match. The greasy haired man was muttering incantations at a potion sitting on the corner of his desk. Sheaves of paperwork littered the tarnished wooden surface surrounding the cauldron.

Snape glowered at Sasuke when he entered the office with nary a knock.

"What do you want Uchiha?" inquired Snape, apparently not in the mood to be interrupted. "I told you last week a solution would take some time to discover concerning your predicament."

"I know that," answered Sasuke neutrally. He stoutly shut the door behind him.

Snape didn't outwardly appear to give Sasuke more than the barest amount of attention but Sasuke saw the way the dark eyes seemed to sharpen a little. It appeared Snape had sensed something was different in Sasuke's demeanour.

"I want to know how long exactly," Sasuke asked. He kept his tone perfectly flat. It had always been the best way to get Orochimaru to cooperate. The Sannin had a fondness for mind games and Sasuke found that not allowing himself to be distracted had always been the easiest way to get Orochimaru to actually get to the point on the rare occasion he deigned to teach Sasuke something. Kabuto was nearly as bad. Always trying to get a reaction was the aim of the game and he particularly enjoyed getting under Sasuke's skin. Team 7 was a sore topic and one that it took a severe amount of effort on Sasuke's part not to be drawn into. He'd never given either of them any hint that he didn't particularly like talking about his former team mates but some sixth sense seemed to tell Orochimaru and Kabuto otherwise. They'd needled at the topic for months once Sasuke had arrived in Oto and it had taken a steadily colder approach in all dealings with the two to convince them that Sasuke was in Oto for one reason only: to get strong enough to kill his brother.

"As I said Uchiha - "

"I am not a fool," Sasuke cut in, voice sharp. Snape _was not_ going to tiptoe his way around the topic. "Your talent is not that dismal. Someone of your calibre who has worked as long as you have in your profession can probably pin down when you will find a solution to within a few weeks. Several months to two or three years is not an adequate answer."

Silence fell between them. Sasuke discovered he now had Snape's full attention. The man was matching his stare evenly, probably testing his conviction Sasuke guessed, in the statement he had just made. Snape of course, didn't know exactly what a shinobi was and on top of that, Sasuke was incredibly perceptive, even for one of his kind. It was obvious to Sasuke that the man was secretive and valued knowledge. He'd probably dealt with very few people in his life as cunning as he was and was averse to sharing knowledge if he could help it. Sasuke however, was an Avenger. He'd spent his life since he was eight years old trying to gain power through any means necessary. Snape wasn't going to hold out on him. This _'little holiday'_ had to end and it had to end now. He had no business being here in this warped reality and every day spent here was an extra day his treacherous elder brother got to spend still breathing.

"I'll admit you are cleverer by far than Potter," said Snape, still refusing to answer by dancing around the question, "but I do not cater to your whims Uchiha."

Snape's dark eyes remained flat and Sasuke realised that Snape actually had more than a little backbone. That was fine by him. Sasuke was spoiling for a fight and Snape was likely to be a far superior opponent to Malfoy any day. His eyes fell on the shelves to his immediate right which were cluttered with hundreds of jars containing all sorts of ingredients and specimens. He hardened his expression, letting Snape know he meant business when he moved his gaze back to the Professor.

"Either tell me or you're going to be short more than a few of your precious ingredients during classes in the immediate future."

"Is that a threat, Uchiha?"

Snape's voice was soft, equally as threatening. He was clearly warning Sasuke not to go any further down the road he'd already started on but Sasuke was in no way cowed. He faced opponents on a daily basis who were out for his blood, if not more than that. A momentary stare-off ensued, neither willing to back down. Finally Sasuke replied, "test me if you like and you'll find out."

Another short pause followed and then, neither sure who moved first exactly, both Snape and Sasuke spun into action.

Sasuke feinted to his right, going straight for the racks of supplies.

"STUPEFY!" cried Snape.

The red jet of light smashed into one of the jars, missing Sasuke by inches and sending broken pieces of glass and specimen flying in all directions. Sasuke refrained from drawing his wand as he changed course to barrel towards Snape. It wasn't like he knew more than a handful of spells anyway, most of which wouldn't really help him at the moment. Snape surprised him however. The man's reflexes were deadly quick as he fired off a second stunner, forcing Sasuke to perform a rather awkward, twisting leap to avoid the spell. His hand shot out, seeking a book from one of the bookcases. He threw it at Snape's head with lethal precision. Snape's skill was even greater then he'd perceived however as the Potions Master shot the book out of the air at almost point blank range. The jet of purple light that hit the spiralling object caused it to combust in an explosion of flying pages. The chaos was all Sasuke needed to serve as a distraction. He moved to tackle Snape, arms closing around Snape's midsection in much the same manner as he had tackled Malfoy several weeks ago.

They landed atop Snape's desk sending papers and objects flying. The cauldron Snape had been muttering over rolled off the side of his desk sending its contents everywhere as Sasuke grappled with Snape's wiry wrists, trying to keep him from pointing his wand at his own face. For all of his minimal training so far however and only being half a head shorter than him, Snape was still more physically powerful then Sasuke was. Before he even quite realised how it had happened, Sasuke heard Snape shout something and suddenly he was airborne.

The next thing he knew, he was groggily sitting up, head spinning and back screaming in pain. Chunks of wood and other broken objects from Snape's office littered his lap and the floor around him. Something wet trickled down his face as he blinked owlishly at the shattered doorway before him. A moment later his floundering thoughts managed to form enough coherency to inform him that Snape had apparently blasted him with something so powerful he'd been knocked clear through the closed wooden door to Snape's office.

Snape was on him only a moment later, his white face livid with rage. He tried to haul Sasuke up which was rather difficult considering his hurting body and muddled sense of balance. Sasuke managed to gather enough sense to snatch up a broken mirror fragment from the floor before Snape manhandled him back into his office, snarling a spell at the door to repair itself. He threw Sasuke into a chair, one of the very few objects that somehow appeared to have remained relatively unscathed in his office and turned around to face him with a swift flare of his black robes. Snape placed his hands on either side of Sasuke on the arms of the chair and leaned down so that his face was only inches from Sasuke's own. Snape opened his mouth to speak and no doubt to threaten him to within an inch of his life but got no further. Sasuke glared into Snape's face and pressed the mirror fragment just a little harder against the Professor's gut.

Slowly, Snape looked down, the anger melting from his face and leaving his expression carefully blank. "Tell me now," demanded Sasuke, pronouncing each word slowly and with clear force. He hadn't quite expected things to turn out this way but somehow he'd managed to corner Snape and he fully intended to get the answer he'd come for.

Snape was silent and Sasuke pressed forward just a little bit more, finally drawing a response from Snape who's eyes rose back up to meet his. There was something a little bit strange about his expression but Sasuke couldn't quite pin point it. Never the less, the Potions Master finally complied. "I would expect a result sometime around the end of the school year."

Carefully Snape drew back. He made no move to raise his wand and slowly Sasuke lowered the piece of mirror and stood up. He maintained eye contact, watching Snape's dark eyes glitter back. "Thank you," he said to the professor. He hardly meant it. The two words were simply meant to make Snape acknowledge the fact that Sasuke had won this particular battle.

Trusting Snape not to try anything, Sasuke turned and left the office and as expected, Snape didn't move until long after Sasuke had shut the door behind himself.

* * *

They found the resort just as twilight set in. It was the first sign of civilisation Harry had seen since they'd left Konoha and it was a welcome one.

They'd crossed the bridge once they found it earlier in the day and had moved into the cool forests of River Country. The air was damp beneath the trees and strangely quiet. Harry watched Kakashi closely but he didn't seem to sense any trouble so Harry relaxed his guard a little. Not much mind, just enough not to be jumping at every little sound.

It was much cooler than the humidity they'd experienced in Fire Country. Harry rather likened it to the feel of England during the autumn months. The milder temperature and the prospect of the hot springs seemed to lighten everybody's mood. Harry walked quietly for the most part but noted that Sakura didn't seem to mind Naruto's constant babble and Kakashi hummed a few notes every five minutes or so before falling silent again at the rear of their little party.

The resort was set a little ways off the main path; up a narrow, winding track that led through the forest and crept up the side of a small hill. The building was a little old and rather on the shabby side of things but it was warm when they stepped into the reception area and the lady behind the counter greeted them in a friendly enough manner.

Harry listened with half an ear as Sakura made arrangemnets and then before he realised it Kakashi was ushering him through a door and down a corridor to their rooms. Tiredness seemed to be weighing down on him all of a sudden. He let himself be guided, let Naruto give him a robe and tell him to change into it (which he did without complaint) and then let the blond boy usher him after Kakashi and out through another door and onto a verandah.

A deep pool of steaming water lay before them. Wafts of fog rose over the still surface until Kakashi took off his robe and slipped into the water, sending out gentle ripples. Naruto was not nearly as graceful. He left Harry standing on the verandah to take three big steps and launch himself into the air. He cannon-balled into water with a giant splash. A large amount splashed Kakashi across the lower half of his face, over which Harry absently noticed the man had placed a flannel. ('Did the guy have awful teeth or something?' Harry wondered fleetingly.) Kakashi didn't seem to mind though. He closed both eyes and lay back against the edge of the pool.

A little stiffly, Harry pulled off his robe. The cold air met his bare chest and he shivered a little as he folded the robe and placed it and his shoes in a little basket next to Kakashi's. Naruto had left his strewn all over the floor but Harry was grateful that he'd at least remembered to tell Harry to tie a towel around his hips before he'd put on the robe to come outside. Harry was relieved that he was actually able to preserve his modesty...well, Sasuke's modesty anyway.

He stepped down towards the water, still a little hesitant. He'd heard about hot springs of course but Great Britain didn't have any as far as he knew. To his relief the water was warm. In fact it was perfect. He sank down into the delicious warmth until only his eyes and the top of his head remained above water level.

"Awesome isn't it?" asked Naruto from where he'd happily settled over on the other side of the hot spring with a contented smile on his face. Harry nodded drowsily and closed his eyes in bliss. The remaining stiffness after Sakura's healing was already beginning to leave him. He settled back against his wall and before he even realised it he was dozing, cocooned in the gentle warmth of the water.

He dreamed about Ron and Hermione at first. Ron was going on and on about the Chudley Cannons again while Hermione huffily told him to shut up about it. The strange thing was that Ron was dressed in Professor Dumbledore's favourite purple robes and Hermione was wearing Trelawney's bottle cap glasses.

Eventually the dream turned to other things, nonsense like scenarios of other students and even a moment where Uncle Vernon actually locked Dudley up in his room and allowed Harry to eat all of Dudley's favourite tubs of ice-cream.

Inevitably however, Harry's dream changed and he was back in the graveyard again, alone as he faced Voldermort while Cedric's still body lay nearby. Voldermort ordered Wormtail to come forward so that he could give him the silver arm, as he had promised he would but instead of Wormtail it was the brute who's arm Harry had cut off that came over. Voldermort attached the new arm without complaint and didn't move as the ninja approached Harry who suddenly felt terror flood him.

The ninja drew his sword and then there was pain, blinding pain and Harry was screaming. Voices were shouting and someone was attempting to hold him down but water was getting in his mouth which only made him thrash more.

His mind quickly worked out that he was awake now and still in the hot spring. Nothing explained the pain though. Naruto was trying to hold him down but he looked terrified. He was fighting a loosing battle and Harry couldn't seem to stop himself. Fear was quickly turning to blinding rage. He noted that glowing red marks had appeared all up and down his left arm but they meant nothing to him at the moment.

"Naruto! Hold him still damn it!" Kakashi shouted.

"I'm trying!" screamed Naruto right back.

Harry jerked his arm back, smiling in vicious satisfaction as he heard Naruto's jaw crack. To his annoyance however, Naruto grunted and Harry almost threw him off but the blonde quickly tightened his grip.

Abruptly Kakashi's right hand began to shriek and a blinding white light struck Harry broad side. He was out before he even realised what had happened.

* * *

"Mr Potter! Mr Potter!"

Dolores Umbridge tried to hail Sasuke down but he ignored her. Students were still trickling back in from the Quidditch match. His appearance was drawing stares but that was hardly unusual. Radiating a 'stay away if you know what's good for you aura', he was able to cross the front hall relatively unhinded while Umbridge tried to fight her way through the students to catch up.

He knew why they were staring this particular time. A) he was still wearing his Quidditch rooms, b) he wasn't heading back towards the direction of the Gryffindor Tower and c) his little collision with the wall had split his head open just to the right of his scar near his hairline and a lot of blood had trickled down his face and dried there.

He was soon beyond the hall and Umbridge's annoying attempts to stop him. Professor Dumbledore's office was right where he remembered it to be and to his surprise, the gargoyle statue leapt aside the moment it saw him coming. He climbed the steps quickly and to his satisfaction, found that the Headmaster had gone straight back to his office after the match. He would have hated to wait around for Dumbledore to show up.

"Sasuke? What can I do for you?" asked Dumbledore, not seeming to mind that he'd come in without knocking or that he was sporting a fresh head wound. The old man was sitting at his desk, in the middle of unwrapping some sort of yellow lolly he'd taken from a bowl on the table top.

"I want to see Sirius Black," said Sasuke getting straight to the point.

"See him? Might I ask why?" asked Dumbledore with a small frown.

Something brushed against Sasuke's mind. It felt strangely like a genjutsu which was most commonly achieved through eye contact. Sasuke realised a moment later what it must be. The old man was probably trying to read his mind. Apparently he didn't trust Sasuke to answer truthfully which he was right about.

Dumbledore didn't seem to be trying to enter his mind though but rather to brush against the fringes of his emotions and judge if he was being truthful or not. It was probably common practise with all of Hogwarts student and not necessairily invasive. Never the less, Sasuke jabbed back irritably, letting the Headmaster subtly know he wasn't going to make this easy for the old man.

It was a little strange that Dumbledore hadn't tried this tact when he'd first arrived but Sasuke didn't question it. He hadn't realised wizards could read other's minds. He was not here however, to worry about that particular point.

"No," replied Sasuke noting that the old man didn't display any outward sign that he'd felt Sasuke's return mental jab.

Dumbledore popped the lolly into his mouth and sucked thoughtfully as he leaned back in his chair.

"Well I suppose it isn't really my concern and Sirius did say you could talk to him if you wanted to."

"I want to talk to him now," Sasuke pressed.

Dumbledore didn't say anything for a moment, his blue eyes calmly assessing Sasuke from the other side of the desk.

"I wasn't asking for your permission either," Sasuke added before the silence could stretch any longer. It was like being examined by the Third, Sasuke thought only Dumbledore knew nothing about his past and was trying to make a desicion to trust him on the bare minimum he did know.

"Very well," Dumbledore conceeded at length. "You may spend the rest of the day with Sirius. I will advise you however, to mind your words. Sirius can be a little ... touchy concerning certain matters. He certainly does not forgive easily either."

"Just tell me how to get there," Sasuke demanded impatiently.

"The address is Number 12, Grimmauld Place," answered Dumbledore. "I must stress that you do not tell anyone else this address. Sirius and the entire Order will be put in jeopardy."

"Order?" queried Sasuke.

Dumbledore nodded gravely. "The Order of the Phoenix. We are leading the fight against Voldermort. Should he gain access to our stronghold, not only would our lives be in great peril but so would those that will suffer if we cannot protect them."

"I won't breath a word," Sasuke promised. It made sense he supposed. Black was on the run and the best place for him to hide would be at the resistance headquarters. It was apparent Dumbledore was putting a lot of faith in him, not that he would bother selling them out. Dumbledore and the staff at Hogwarts were the only ones trying to help him return to his own life and there probably wasn't anyone else out there who he trusted would be able to do it, at least for the moment.

"There is a pot of floo powder on the mantle. I trust you will be alright?" asked Dumbledore.

Sasuke didn't answer as he moved to the fire place and scooped out a handful of powder. Choosing to let actions speak instead of words, he flung the little grains into the grate and watched the flames turn green. Stepping into the fire confidentally, he stated the address and then Dumbledore's office was gone as he was whisked away.

He stepped easily out of the grate upon arriving at Number 12 several seconds later into a dark, dusty room. He glanced around curiously, noting the interesting items in the room. There was a large tapestry of some design on the far wall upon which several scorch marks had been dealt to the large square of fabric. Moving closer, he realised he was looking at the Black family tree. One of the names leapt out at Sasuke and he leaned forward, stunned to realise that Draco Malfoy and Sirius Black were related.

As he bent forward however, he was reminded of the shard of mirror he'd put in his pocket after leaving Snape's office when it poked him through the fabric of his Quidditch robes. He'd completely forgotten about it. Pulling it out of his pocket, least he accidentally cause himself some serious damage, he glanced at it only momentairily but paused in amazement when he suddenly realised what he was looking at.

Blinking, he gazed at his eyes in the mirror shard as they blinked back, red Sharingan glowing eerily in the gloom of the Black's ancestrial home.

* * *

****

Author's Note:

Ha ha ha! Cliffy! You guys are never going to guess this one right. On another note, sorry for being on hiatus so long. Life has been shitty the past year and writer's block has been my constant friend. I keep re-reading earlier chapters and getting distracted because I want to edit.

Anyway, I decided to just get on with it. Hope you guys like the update. I tried to be really interesting and I realised I was bored with the story and how it was progressing so slowly and I figured you guys must be to so I tried to start moving things along a little. There's been plenty of action and lots of interesting little scenes for you to stew about.

Thanks so much for all your support the last few months and once again sorry for the lack of updates. I'm almost at the end of uni (shannaro!) and I'm going to try a lot harder to make updates more regular for you guys.


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